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OLD PANAMA 

AND CASTILLA DEL GEO 



NARRATIVE histon- of the discoven,-, con- 
quest, and settlement by the Spaniards of Pan- 
rj ama, Darien, \ eragua, Santo Domingo, Santa 
Marta, Cartagena, Nicaragua, and Peru : 
Including the four voyages of Columbus to 
America, the discover}" of the Pacific Ocean 
by \ asco Nunez de Balboa, a description of the Aborigines 
of the Isthmus, accounts of the search for a Strait through the 
New \\ orld and earlv efforts for a Canal, the darmg raids 
of Sir Francis Drake, the Bucccineers in the Caribbean and 
South Seas, the sack of the cit\- of Old Panama by Henr\- 
Morgan, and the stor}* of the Scots colony on Caledonia Bay 

WITH MAPS AXD RARE ILLUS TRATIO XS 




7 



DR. CT/L; G; AXDEBSOy 

Medical Reserre Corps, United States Ajnny; 

Lale PliT9ciaii l<«t«"«a'' Caaal Cooamkaoo ; FonDerij i^ L>eut. and Asst. SnrgeoD, U. S. Araqr, 

aad Major aod Sorgeaa U. S. Vok.; M e a lxa of the Americam Medical Assodatian : of die 

Medical Society. District of ColoBbia : of the Andaioinloeical SocEty ft WaiU^taa. etc 




BOSTOX 

THE PAGE CO:VIPAXY 

AiDCCCCxrr 






Copyright, igii, by 
C. L. G. Anderson 

t^ ^ Ji H VS I 
3L ^ S3 



HH'^\311 



DEDICATED 

TO 

THE BUILDERS 

OF THE '^ 

PANAMA CANAL 



111 



"La mayor cosa, despues de la creacion del mundo, sacando 
la encarnacion y muerte del que lo crio, es el descubrimiento 
de las Indias." 

Francisco Lopez de Gomara, 1552. 

"II n'y point eu d'evenement aussi interessant pour Tespece 
humaine en general, & pour les peuples de I'Europe en particu- 
lier, que la decouverte du Nouveau-Monde & le passage aux 
Indes par le cap de Bonne-Esperance. Alors a commence une 
revolution dans le commerce, dans la puissance des nations, dans 
les moeurs, I'industrie & le gouvernement de tous les peuples. 
C'est a ce moment que les hommes des contrees le plus eloig- 
nees se sont rapproches par de nouveaux rapports & de 
nouveaux besoins. Les productions des climats places sous 
I'equateur, se consomment dans les climats voisins du pole; 
I'industrie du Nord est transportes au Sud; les etoffes de 
rOrient sont devenues le luxe des Occidentaux ; & par-tout les 
hommes ont fait un echange mutuel de leurs opinions, de leurs 
loix, de leurs usages, de leurs maladies, de leurs remedes, de 
leurs vertus & de leurs vices." 

L'abbe Raynal, 1781. 



IV. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

List of Illustrations vii 

Glossary ix 

Foreword xi 



I. The Isthmus of Panama. Darien — Panama-;— 

Veragua. Geography, Orography, History. . i 

II. Columbus and his Dream 29 

III. First Voyage of Columbus to America, 1492. 

Discovery of the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti . 45 

IV. Second Voyage of Columbus to America, 1493. 

Discovery of the Lesser Antilles, Porto Rico, 
and Jamaica 65 

V. Third Voyage of Columbus to America, 1498. 

Discovery of the Mainland „ "JJ 

VI. Fourth Voyage of Columbus to America, 1502. 
Discovery of Central America and the Isth- 
mus of Panama 85 

VII. Don Rodrigo de Bastidas. Discoverer of the 
Isthmus of Darien. "Conquistador y Pacyfi- 
cador de Sancta Marta." "Spain's best and 
noblest Conquistador." 117 

VIII. Tierra Firme : Comprising the Provinces of 
Nueva Andalucia and Castilla del Oro. The 
Governors Alonso de Ojeda and Diego de 
Nicuesa: Rivals in fame and rivals in mis- 
fortune 127 

IX. Diego de Nicuesa. First Governor of the 

Isthmus 141 

X. Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Discoverer of the 

Pacific Ocean 157 

XI. Pedro Arias de Avila. Pedrarias. "The wrath 

of God"— "The Timur of the Indies." 183 

XII. Last Days of Antigua and Settlement of 

Panama 211 



TABLE OP CONTENTS 

XIII. Gil Gonzalez Davila. The First Conquistador 

in Nicaragua 217 

XIV. The Spaniards on Panama Bay. Pedrarias 

seizes Nicaragua 225 

XV. The Quest for Peru. Pizarro, Almagro, and 

Luque 235 

XVI. Castilla del Oro, 1 525-1 550. Rebellious at- 
tempts to control the Isthmus 247 

XVII. Early Descriptions of Veragua and Panama. 
Nearly literal translations from original 
documents 269 

XVIII. The Search for a Strait, and Early Efforts for 

a Canal 293 

XIX. Aborigines of the Isthmus , 319 

XX. Sir Francis Drake. Circumnavigator and Ad- 
miral. "The Master Thiefe of the Un- 
knowne Worlde." 337 

XXI. The Buccaneers 375 

XXII. Henry Morgan and the Sack of Panama 401 

XXIII. The Buccaneers in Panama Bay and the South 

Sea 439 

XXIV. The Darien Colony 471 

Appendix 501 

Bibliography 519 

Index 531 



VI. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Vasco Nunez de Balboa takes possession of the South 

Sea Prontis. 

Map of the Republic of Panama and of the Canal i 

Mouth of the Chagres River and Castle of San Lorenzo . . 8 

Triangular monument and Washington House, Colon lo 

Bronze statue of Columbus on Cristobal Point ii 

Nombre de Dios, in 1909 13 

Cathedral of Panama 18 

Surveying for the Panama Railroad 26 

Ruined Church of Santo Domingo, Panama 29 

Railroad bridge over the Chagres at Barbacoas 36 

Gatun on the Chagres, in 1907 45, 

Restored Toscanelli chart of 1474 57 

Columbus makes the tgg stand on end 76 

Map of Central America and the West Indies 80 

Columbus encounters great storms off Veragua 96 

Ruins of the Castle of San Lorenzo 117 

Ascending the Chagres River 128 

Isthmian jungle 141 

Pariciaco tells Balboa of the South Sea 162 

Tree-dwelling Indians in the lowlands of Panama 165 

Day-ak, a San Bias chief, from Rio Diablo 192 

Chagres River near Gorgona 211 

Sloth, and method of transporting horses 224 

Cruces, formerly called Venta de Cruces 233 

Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque 238 

Bellin's map of the Isthmus, 1754 256 



vii. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATION S 1 

Cathedral tower of Old Panama 269 

Ancient stone bridge at Old Panama 279 

Interior of ruined Church, Old Panama 288 

Portobelo, in 1910 314 

Culebra Cut, in 1910 316 

Golden figures from the guacas of Chiriqui 320 

Group of Indians, basalt stool, and piedra pintada 325 

Decorated vase from Indian graves 330 

Sir Francis Drake 337 

Plan of Portobelo, in 1602 395 

Sir Henry Morgan 401 

Battle of Old Panama 423 

Street in village of Taboga 448 

Lacenta, chief of the Dariens, and retinue 459 

Caledonia Bay and New Edinburgh 471 

Sea-wall of Panama at low tide 480 



vni. 



GLOSSARY 

Adelantado — He who goes in advance; the leader of an ex- 
pedition, or governor of a frontier province; sometimes trans- 
lated as meaning lieutenant-governor. The verb is adelantar, 
to advance. 

Alcalde — Justice of the peace ; from the Arabic al cadi, the 
judge, or governor. Besides the alcaldes ordinarios, there were 
alcaldes may ores, or district judges. 

Alguacil mayor — High sheriff. 

Audiencia — From the Latin, audire, to hear; a court of oyer 
and terminer ; the highest court of appeal and jurisdiction in 
the Spanish colonies. The chief judge was known as the 
presidente ; the other members of the tribunal were called 
oidores, or hearers. There were eleven Royal Audiences estab- 
lished in Spanish America. 

Ayuntamiento — Spanish town-council. 

Bachiller — Bachelor of law. 

Cahildo — Corporation of a town; chapter of a cathedral. 

Casa de Contratacion de las Indias — India House of Trade, 
established at Sevilla, in 1503, to promote and regulate traffic 
with Spain's colonies beyond the seas. In time, it became also 
a court gi judicature. 

Conquistador — Conqueror. 

Consejo Supremo de Indias — Supreme Council of the Indies ; 
a permanent body of learned men finally established at Madrid, 
in 1524, to deal with affairs relating to the Indies. 

Contador — Auditor, accountant. 

Corregidor — Magistrate, mayor, councilman. 

Corregimiento — Mayoralty, city government. 

Bncomienda — A charge, or commandery; from encomendar, 
to recommend, or give in charge; an allotment of Indian vas- 
sals given in charge to a Spaniard, as a repartimiento became 
vacant. The custom was of ancient usage by the four military 

ix. 



GLOSSARY 

orders of Spain in the vassalage of the Moors, and other infi- 
dels. An encomendero was a Spaniard who held an enco- 
mienda. 

Bscribano publico — Notary public. 

Bscudcro — Shield-bearer, squire. 

Factor — Agent. 

Gobernador — Governor. 

Grumetes — Ships' apprentices, or cabin-boys. 

Hidalgo — From hijodalgo, son of something ; nobleman. 

Licenciado — Licentiate in law, a degree higher than bachiller. 

Regidor — Alderman, prefect. 

Regimiento — Administration, municipality. 

Repartimiento — A distribution ; repartir, to distribute. First 
division of the Indians in serfdom to the Spanish conquerors, 
after the failure of the per capita tax system instituted by 
Columbus on Hispaniola. The term repartimiento was later 
applied to the allotment of lands, the Indians residing thereon 
being given in encomienda. 

Residencia — The examination and accounting taken of an 
executive or judicial officer while in residence within his juris- 
diction. This was always done at the expiration of the term 
of office of a Spanish governor, judge, or other high official; 
but could be ordered at any time. The inquiry was conducted 
by a jues de residencia, judge of residence, appointed by the 
King, or in the New World by the Council of the Indies, or by 
a Viceroy. The residencia was intended to encourage good 
officials and to check mal-administration in office, but the system 
had its defects and evils. Said Solorzano, in his Politica 
Indiana, "the Prince will not cure his commonwealth with this 
medicine, if the medicine brings with it greater evils than those 
which it is intended to remedy." The residencia was sometimes 
called a visita, or visit. 

Veedor — Inspector, overseer. 



! FOREWORD 

The finding of America zvas the greatest event in history; 
tJiie cruel conquest and almost complete annihilation of its people 
t$ie greatest wrong known to mankind. Human intercommuni- 
cation and interrelation were never affected so powerfully as 
zphen Columbus, suddenly and within a few years, enlarged the 
known world by the addition of a new continent and another 
great ocean, together comprising about two-fifths of the surface 
<Df the globe. So new and strange to Europe zvas this half of 
the earth, that it seemed, indeed, to be another zvorld; and so 
recent, historically speaking, has been its discovery, that we still 
irefer to the Western Hemisphere as the New World. 

The Old World has expended her best efforts in exploiting 
I the shores of the Atlantic, and in founding and trying to main- 
tain and hold distant colonies and protectorates. In a sense, 
she is finished. Europe fructified, conquered and peopled 
I America. The strife is nozv on between America and Asia, and 
' future activities pertain to the Pacific where West clashes 
with East. 

The Isthmus of Panama, formerly a part of Costilla del Oro, 
is the gatezvay to the Pacific, and the front door of the Three 
Americas, to which the Antilles lead up as stepping-stones. 
Here the first white invaders made their "entry" into the new 
continent, founded their first settlements, penetrated to the 
South Sea, and roamed in conquering bands up and dozvn the 
Pacific coast. 

For migration, commerce, or war, the Isthmus of America 
(with or without a canal) is the most important strategic point 
in the world. Ever since its conquest by Spain, other nations 
have recognised the value of the Isthmus, and sought to possess 
this narrow strip of land between the two great oceans. 

This part of Central America presents three well-defined his- 
toric periods: 

I. The early period of Spanish activity, conquest, possession, 
and exploitation; ending about the year i/oo. 

xi. 



FORBIV ORD ' 

2. An era of apathy, oppression, seclusion, and repose ; last- 
ing one hundred years. 

5. The modern period, beginning with the nineteenth cen- 
tury, during the first quarter of which all the Spanish provinces 
on the continent of America declared for independence, and 
threw off the yoke of the mother country. The pure air of 
freedom soon inspired the people of the Isthmus to revive the 
old efforts for better interoceanic communication, and, about 
1850, we find active plans for the construction of railroads and 
canals from sea to sea. 

We know less of our sister republics on the south than we 
do of remote parts of Europe. Had our forefathers as little 
appreciation as we of the relation of Latin America to the 
United States of the North, the magnificent Monroe Doctrine 
never would have been promulgated. We have arrived at a 
time, today, when everyone cognisant of the trend of current 
events realizes the great revival of interest in everything per- 
taining to Spanish America, particularly to the Isthmian region. 
The prominence to which Panama is now approaching is hers 
by right of geographic situation and historic interest. 

The acquisition of the Canal Zone by the United States, in 
ipo^, and the successful prosecution of the work of construct- 
ing a canal, marks the culmination of what I have designated 
the third period in the history of the Isthmus. For this time 
there is no dearth of books, dealing mainly with the Panama 
railroad, and the French and American canals. The middle 
period — the Dark Ages of Spanish America — has little to offer 
to English readers. But the first period, zuhen Spain wrote 
"plus ultra" on the Pillars of Hercules, and later, "non suMcit 
orbis" on the globe of the earth, is the time most replete with 
human interest and activity, and the least known to mankind. 
Where we now are expending such magnificent efforts upon a 
work to tvhich, in the language of the poet, both heaven and 
earth have put hand — "al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra" — 
the Homeric achievements of the Spanish conquerors, and the 
fierce struggles of those who strove to wrest that wondrous 
gateway from its holders, cannot fail to excite our interest if 



Xll. 



FORBW ORD 

not our admiration or approval. The Panama Canal will unify 
our Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coastlines, and the short road to 
India, by the west, will at last lie open. 

Barring the monumental work by Bancroft, not in reach of 
the general reader, there is no book in English dealing fitly 
with the early history of the Panama region, nor in any lan- 
guage is this information given in a single volume. Prom 
many sources, most of them original, in Spanish, French, and 
English, the writer has garnered accounts of the events nar- 
rated in the following pages. They all seem to center in, 
or radiate from. Old Panama or Cctstilla del Oro. 

About all the average intelligent person knows of Christopher 
Columbus is that he found America, and made an egg stand 
on end. Columbus, on his fourth voyage, discovered practically 
all of the coastline of Castilla del Oro, extending from Cape 
Gracias a Dios south and eastzvard to the Gulf of Urabd; and 
in Veragua, on the Isthmus of Panama, the Admiral made the 
second, if not the first, attempt at settlement on the continent 
of America. Panama, too, is so closely related to Santo Do- 
mingo, or Bspariola, that the zuriter believed a brief review of 
the earlier voyages of Columbus essential to a proper under- 
standing of the history of this portion of Tierra Firme. From 
Santo Domingo went forth two lines of discovery and conquest 
of the mainland, one by way of Darien and Panama to Nica- 
ragua and Peru, the other through Cuba to Mexico and 
Guatemala. With the first, and earlier, of these it is the 
province of this book to deal. 

There is nothing more unjust than the partial way in which 
much history is zuritten; and there is no more appropriate place 
than in a book dealing with the beginnings of American history 
to protest against the habitual application of the term "savages" 
to the American Race (Amerinds). Ethnologic ally, only a few 
insignificant and remote tribes — as the Macus of the Rio Negro, 
and the Botocudos of Brazil — exhibited what can properly be 
called a savage stage of culture. As to conduct, the reader is 
left to form his ozvn judgment as to which displayed the most 
savagery, the White Man or the Red Man. It zvill be noted that 



Xlll. 



FOREWORD 

I refrain from calling the Indians "bloodthirsty savages" simply 
because they defended their homes and attempted to drive out 
the zvhite invaders. Neither do I designate every petty chief 
a king, nor his band a nation. When the Spaniards wantonly 
slew the natives and fed them to their dogs, I fail to see any- 
thing heroic in their conduct, and do not hesitate to call them 
butchers, even though they possessed luhite skins and professed 
to be followers of Christ. 

I have endeavored to present the facts as they are told to us, 
and the characters in their true colors. Thus, Vasco Nunez, 
Pedrarias, Francis Drake, and Henry Morgan, all were rob- 
bers; but Nuiies and Drake were generous, manly fellows, 
Pedrarias a cunning old monster, and Morgan a tricky and 
unscrupulous thief. All these actors, destroying people entitled 
to the same liberty and right of development which they claimed 
for themselves, and justifying their conduct with the usual 
cant, were but the pioneers of the enforced expansion of Buro- 
pean states in America, and the puppets of kings and prince- 
lings, l^hese men must not be judged by our standards, but 
according to the times in zvhich they performed their parts. 

The most senseless and impolitic feature of the Spanish 
invasion of America tvas the treachery and cruelty of the Con- 
quistadores to each other, due to the zvant of a national senti- 
ment among the different provinces of Spain, suspicion and 
jealousy between the commanders, and the ceaseless rivalry to 
win the royal favor. 

The writer quotes freely, believing the exact zvords and 
forms of expression used by the old historians, often partici- 
pants in or eyewitnesses of the events, ivould the better trans- 
mit the story, and be the more appreciated by the reader. For 
the same reason, and at the sacrifice of consistency, the names 
of persons and places are spelled in different ways, indicating 
the accent or not, according to the fashion of the chronicler 
whose narrative the author follows at the time. So far as 
practicable, chapters follow each other in chronological order. 

Most of the material for this work, including the old illus- 
trations, was obtained from the Library of Congress, and the 

xiv. 



FOREWORD 

author takes pleasure in thanking the librarian, Mr. Herbert 
Putnam, and his capable assistants in that great storehouse of 
learning, for their uniform courtesy, and willingness to give 
access to rare books and documents. Like acknowledgments 
are due the librarians and other officials of the libraries of the 
War Department, of the Navy Department, of the State De- 
partment, of the Bureau of Ethnology, and of the Columbus 
Manorial Library of the Pan American Union. 

Especial thanks are tendered the Isthmian Canal Commission, 
and Sehor L L. Madiiro Jnr, of Panama, for permission to 
reproduce their photographs ; and to the Pan American Union, 
and the Bureau of Ethnology, for the loan of cuts. The half- 
tones and etchings, such as are not borrowed, were made for 
this book by the Maurice Joyce Engraving Co. of this city. 

To Dr. John M. Gitterman are due the thanks of the writer 
for his painstaking efforts at proofreading. 

And finally, the author fulfills a pleasant duty in expressing 
his appreciation of the hearty co-operation of the Sudzvarth 
Printing Company in its efforts to present the product of his 
labor in a becoming garb. 

C. L. G. Ande;rson. 

918 Eighteenth Street N. W., 

Washington, D. C, March 31, 191 1. 



PROnuEOF 

PANAMA CANAL 

The Vertical Scale is exaggerated 
about too fold 





CHAPTER I. 



THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA 
Darien — Panama — Veragua 
Geography, Orography, History 

"Here the oceans twain have waited 
All the ages to be mated, — 
Waited long and waited vainly, 
Though the script was written plainly: 
This, the portal of the sea. 
Opes for him who holds the key; 
Here the empire of the earth 
Waits in patience for its birth." 

— James Jeffrey Roche. 

IHE Isthmus of Panama is a narrow sigmoid 
flexure of land joining North America to South 
America. No other part of the world records 
such stirring exploits by such various peoples. 
Indian, Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Portu- 
guese, and African have all played their parts 
upon and about the Isthmus of the New World. 
Cacique and Conquistador, Padre and Bucca- 
neer, Indian, Latin, Teuton, Negro, and Asiatic 
have come and gone; and in a few years the 
tropical jungle has closed over their remains 
and effaced their impress. 

Both North and South America are irregularly triangular in 
shape, being widest at their northern extremities, and becoming 
very narrow at their southern ends. These two continents, of 
almost equal area, are joined by a strip of land called the 
Isthmus ; corresponding practically to the limits of the present 
Republic of Panama. 

Darien was the first name of this region, and for a long time 
was used synonymously with Panama. Nowadays, Darien 
means the eastern part of the Republic of Panama, more par- 
ticularly the section between the Gulf of Darien on the Atlantic, 
and the Gulf of San Miguel on the Pacific; and also the adjoin- 
ing territory of Colombia west of the Gulf of Uraba. 

Early writers applied the term Darien to both the Gulf of 
Uraba, and the Atrato river on the Atlantic side, and the Gulf 




OLD PANAMA 

of San Miguel, and the Tuira river on the Pacific side ; as well 
as to other rivers in the eastern part of the Isthmus. This has 
given rise to much confusion, and even to disaster to exploring 
parties. 

The Darien was the first route across the Isthmus by white 
men, and was seriously considered as a location for an inter- 
oceanic canal. In the same restricted sense, the low region 
between the cities of Colon and Panama, through which the 
canal is now being constructed, is often called the Isthmus of 
Panama. 

Considering Central America as a part of North America, 
the Isthmus may be said to join the southeastern extremity of 
the Northern to the northwestern corner of the Southern 
continent. The 8oth meridian of longitude, which passes 
through the mouth of the Chagres river, and just west of the 
Canal Zone, bisects the Isthmus from north to south, and runs 
east of Havana and of the State of Florida. South of the 
Isthmus, this meridian passes west of almost all of South 
America, touching the land only within the westernmost cape 
of Parina. 

In studying Panama, one must remember that the Isthmus of 
the western hemisphere runs east and west ; that Colon, on the 
Atlantic, is not only north, but also west of Panama ; and that 
in the latter city the sun rises out of the Pacific Ocean. As 
Tracy Robinson says: "There is a suspicion of something 
crooked about this." The crookedness is in the Isthmus, 
which, as I have said, is bent twice upon itself like the Greek 
letter sigma. 

For a long time after the Pacific was discovered it was called 
the South Sea, while the Caribbean was known as the North 
Sea. At the time of the discovery of the Isthmus by Bastidas 
(1501) and Columbus (1502), they recognized that it was not 
an island ; so named it Tierra Firme. Ferdinand of Spain, in 
1509, divided Tierra Firme into two parts; the region extend- 
ing from the middle of the Gulf of Uraba east to the Cabo 
de la Vela he named Nueva Andalucia, and gave to Alonso de 
Ojeda; while Diego de Nicuesa was appointed governor of the 
land extending westward from the Gulf of Uraba to Cape 
Gracias a Dios, which was denominated Castilla del Oro, or 
Golden Castile. Some ancient maps represent Castilla del Oro 
as lying east of the Gulf of Uraba, and this error is occasionally 
repeated in modern publications. 

In early days Castilla del Oro was commonly divided into 
Darien, Panama, and Verdgua. 

two 



THE ISTHMUS 

Until recently, the Republic of Panama was a state of the 
Republic of Colombia, and thus was reckoned as being in 
South America ; whereas, geographically, geologically, and now 
politically, it is in Central America, and a part of the northern 
continent. 

Panama extends from Colombia on the east to Costa Rica on 
the west, a distance of 725 kilometers, or about 450 miles ; and 
varies in width from 50 to 190 kilometers, or from 31 to 118 
miles. On account of its double flexion, it extends from 
7° 10' to 9° 41' north latitude. The area of the Republic of 
Panama is about 32,000 square miles; and it contains a 
population of about 360,000 souls, not including the 20,000 
Indians of pure blood. 

The general mountain system of the western hemisphere is 
continued through the Isthmus ; but, unlike the Rocky Mount- 
ains in the north and the Andes in the south, it here runs about 
midway between the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts, and in a 
direction east and west."" The elevation of the divide varies 
from a few hundred feet to several thousand feet, reaching its 
greatest height in the Cordillera of Chiriqui. The mountains 
receive local designations in the different provinces, as the 
Cordillera de Verdguas, C. de Panama, C. de San Bias, C. del 
Darien, and C. de Baudo, 

Panama is unique in being a part of a continent, having two 
extensive coastlines bordering upon the two great oceans of the 
world, yet in close proximity to each other. The Atlantic 
(Caribbean) coastal plain is densely covered with forest and 
jungle, through which flow numerous streams and rivers. 
With the exception of a couple of towns, like Bocas, and 
Colon, this side of the Isthmus is inhabited only by remnants 
of the old Indian tribes and negroid mixtures. Communica- 
tion is mainly by means of canoes, and in the rainy season 
passage by land is practically impossible. Indeed, since the 
days of the old Camino Real (King's Highway) between 
Panama and Portobelo, there has been nothing like a roadway 
on the Isthmus till the advent of the Americans in 1904, It is 
not generally known that the charter of the Panama Railroad 
contains a clause prohibiting the construction of a highway or 
other method of transit across the Isthmus, west of a line 
connecting Cape Tiburon on the Atlantic with Point Garachine 
on the Pacific. The convention between the United States and 



^Froni the San Bias country eastward to the Gulf of Uraba, the 
Cordillera is nearer the Atlantic shore. 

three 



OLD PANAMA 

Panama, November i8, 1903, confirms the monopoly of transit 
to the United States. 

The Pacific (southern) side of the Isthmus is not so low and 
marshy as the Atlantic (northern) side. Between the mount- 
ains and the sea are plains or llanos, and savannas; which are 
traversed by clear and rapid rivers. The amount of rainfall on 
the Pacific coast of the Isthmus is only about six feet, while on 
the Atlantic shore it averages twelve feet, or more, yearly. 
Neither is the Pacific coast subject to such violent storms as 
occur on the Atlantic side. The more elevated land and the 
better climatic conditions induced the Spaniards to settle on the 
Pacific slope after failing on the Atlantic coast. The open 
llanos furnish excellent grazing for horses and cattle; and 
maize, sugar-cane, the legumes, and all the tropical fruits and 
melons can be raised with little effort. Nearly all the Pana- 
manians live on the Pacific side of the Isthmus, and little towns 
are frequent, especially in the provinces of Code, Los Santos, 
Veraguas, and Chiriqui, all in the western part of the Isthmus. 

The two coasts of Panama, though but forty to one hundred 
miles apart, are entirely distinct. With the exception of a few 
miserable trails across the mountains, the Panama Railroad is 
the only communication from one side to the other. This gives 
the railroad a strategic advantage, of which it is not slow to 
avail itself, and determined the success of the revolution of 
1903 and the establishment of the Republic of Panama. 

A brief review of the notable points along each coast, and of 
the famous events which have happened on the Isthmus, 
particularly in colonial days, m.ay be both interesting and 
instructive. 

Beginning at Punta Mona, or Monkey Point, also called 
Punta Carreta, the boundary between Costa Rica and Panama 
on the Caribbean Sea, and passing eastward, we soon reach the 
mouth of the Sixola;' and a few miles further on is the Rio 
Changuinola." Both these rivers drain a rich banana section, 
and are navigable for small vessels. The next interesting point 
is the Boca del Drago, or Dragon's Mouth, which gives en- 
trance to Almirante Bay, discovered by and named after Christ- 

^ Called also HI Rio Tarire, the ancient boundary between Veragua 
and Costa Rica. 

' The Changiiinola, or Rio de la Bstrella, was discovered by Juan 
Vasquez de Coronado, in 1564; and is described by Fray Augustin de 
Ceballos, in 1610, as being "rio prodigioso y el mas rico del mundo." 
The mines of Estrella and Tisingal were considered as rich as those 
of Potosi in Peru. This river separated Veragua from Costa Rica. 

four 



THB ISTHMUS 

opher Columbus, High Admiral of the Ocean Sea. Almirante 
Bay gives deep water anchorage, and is the best harbor in the 
north coast for large vessels, being much frequented by our 
naval vessels. Between Admiral's Bay and the Caribbean 
Sea is Columbus Island, on which is situated the town of Bocas 
del Toro, inhabited mostly by negroes, and a headquarters of 
the United Fruit Company.* Bocas was founded, about a cen- 
tury ago, by negro immigration from the islands of St. Andrew 
and Old Providence, and has grown to be the capital of the 
province and one of the principal ports of Panama. Opposite 
Bocas is Careening Cay, where Columbus, in 1502, beached 
and cleaned his ships. Nearby is Nonsense Cay, one of the 
prettiest places I have seen in the tropics, on which the fruit 
company has erected their hospital. Further oif are Bastimen- 
tos (Old Bank) and Pope islands. 

Almirante Bay communicates with the Laguna de Chiriqui, 
which is not a lagoon in the ordinary sense, but a large, safe 
bay, thirty-three miles long, east and west, and fourteen miles 
wide. On the main shore are Chiriqui Grande, a little pueblo ; 
and Chiriquicito, which is the terminus of a narrow-gauge rail- 
road running back to the banana farms. Here begins a very 
rough trail, passable only afoot, crossing the Cerro de la 
Horqueta, a mountain range six thousand feet high, to the 
city of David, on the Pacific slope. 

When Columbus stopped in the lagoon he gathered provisions, 
traded hawks'-bells and gewgaws for the golden ornaments of 
the natives, and inquired anxiously about a rich region to the 
east, which the Indians called Veragua. 

The lagoon and neighboring islands were favorite resorts of 
the buccaneers, and only three years ago a party made expen- 
sive diggings on Zapatilla Cay for pirate gold supposed to be 
buried there. The Chiriqui region was at one time considered 
as a transisthmian route, and a concession granted therefor. 

At the eastern end of the lagoon is the port of Valiente, or 
Bluefield, on a projection of land called the Valiente peninsula. 
In this section dwell the Cricamola Indians, called Valiente by 
the Spaniards on account of their valor in resisting the white 
man, and the fierce duels in which they engage among them- 
selves. 

* This place was called Boca del Toro long before a town was started. 
The name is taken from the boca, or channel, leading from the sea to 
Almirante Bay, and also from the figure of a large resting bull, pre- 
sented by a cliff when viewed from afar. 



five 



OLD PANAMA 

We entered the Laguna on the west by the Dragon's Mouth, 
and will leave it through Tiger Channel {Canal del Tigre), at 
its eastern extremity; pass around Punta Chiriqui, and sail 
along the coast inside the island known as Bscudo de Veragua,^ 
which is eight and one-half miles from the mainland. From 
here the shore makes a dip to the south, forming what is called 
Mosquito Gulf. It is not much of a gulf, but mosquitoes are 
very plentiful along the shore. Numerous rivers empty into 
the sea, and the principal points of land are Buppan Bluff, 
Point Coaita, and Zapatero Point. It was along this coast that 
the unfortunate Nicuesa wandered, seeking escape from his 
Golden Castile. 

About sixty miles from the Laguna de Chiriqui we arrive at 
the mouth of the Verdgua^ river, upon the banks of which the 
famous Quibian, or head chief of the Indians, made his home, 
and where he was captured by the Spaniards. A few miles to 
the eastward is the Rio Belen, where was made, early in 1503, 
the second attempt at settlement by Europeans upon the 
mainland of the New World. It was here that Christopher 
Columbus planted a colony, called Nuestra Senora de Belen, 
under the command of his brother Bartholomew, the Adelan- 
tado. Our Lady of Bethlehem was short-lived ; as the Quibian, 
escaping from the Spaniards, collected his warriors and drove 
the white men to their ships. A few years later, in 151 1, Olano 
and Cueto built a few huts on the site formerly occupied by 
Don Bartolome; but starvation soon forced them to abandon 
the place. Afterwards the Spaniards obtained so much gold 
from the mines of Veragua that they called this region the 
Costa del Oro de Colon. 

The point at the mouth of the Belen is called Cristobal, and 
the neighboring bay St. Christopher, in honor of the great 
discoverer. Remnants of the Guaimi Indians still inhabit the 
adjoining country and the mountains of Veraguas. 

Further eastward along the coast is the mouth of the Chagres 
river, between Punta Butata and Punta Morrito. Next to 



^ This island was once called Bscudo de Nicuesa (Shield of Nicuesa), 
because it guarded Castilla del Oro, and marks the spot near which 
that unfortunate cavalier is believed to have perished. 

* Later chroniclers would make it appear that the word Veragua is 
derived from Verdes-aguas, or Green-waters , an etymology to which I 
do not subscribe. Ulloa, who visited Panama in 1736, writes: " To the 
river now called Veragua, he [Columbus] gave the name of Verdes- 
aguas, on account of the green color of its water; or, according to 
others, because the Indians called it by that name in their language." 



THB ISTHMUS 

Panama, the name of Chagres is the most familiar of Isthmian 
names. It was first known as the Rio Lagartos, or River of 
Alligators. For four centuries the Chagres has been the bond 
of union between the two great oceans of the world, the way 
between the East and the West, the key to the portal of the 
South Sea. The ancient history of the Isthmus, like that of 
the Panama Railroad, and of the French and American canals, 
centers around this river; and from about 1530 to the present 
day, the Chagres route has remained the only practicable gate- 
way through the New World. The Chagres river has its origin 
in the mountains south from Palenque, nearly midway of the 
Isthmus, and runs a tortuous course of 120 miles, west and then 
north, to the Caribbean Sea. It drains a watershed of about 
1200 square miles. The principal tributaries of the Chagres 
are the Esperanza, Rio Indio, the large Pequeni with its 
affluent the Boqueron, the Gatun, the Trinidad, and the 
Gatuncillo. 

The relocated Panama Railroad crosses the Chagres at 
Gamboa, not far above Gorgona and Matachin. Three miles 
up the river comes Cruces, and twelve miles beyond is Alhajuela. 
Ten miles farther up, following the winding course of the 
river, is Dos Bocas, the junction of the Chagres and Pequeni. 
The headwaters of the Chagres, Pequeni, and Boqueron, run 
through box canons in many places, and rapids and falls are 
numerous; so that navigation by cayuco, or canoe, is very 
dangerous and often impossible, as in these narrow, rocky 
gorges the waters may rise from forty to eighty feet during 
a heavy rainfall. San Juan, the largest settlement in this 
region, is a pueblo of 350 souls, and is located on the Pequeni, 
two miles above Dos Bocas, and about eight miles below Boca 
Boqueron. The old Camino Real, vestiges of which can yet 
be found, ran northward from Panama by a place called Maria 
Enrique, then through Venta de Camalilla, crossing the Chagres 
river at Venta de Chagre, above Dos Bocas. The road then 
followed the course of the Pequeni to the town of San Juan, 
to Pueblo de Indio, to Pequeni (on the Rio Pequeni), and to 
Boqueron. After several fordings of a river called San Juan, 
and crossing the hills on the north coast, the road turned east- 
ward to NombredeDios ;or turning in the other direction, joined 
the Rio Cascajal near El Bujio, and followed that river north- 
west to Puerto Bello. North of the Chagres river the present 
trail is impassable on horseback, even in the dry season. Much 
of the Chagres river and many of the old landmarks along its 
course will soon be obliterated by the waters of Gatun Lake. 



OLD PANAMA 

Guarding the entrance of the Chagres river, on the east, is a 
rocky bluff facing the sea, and washed on two sides by the 
river. On this height can be seen the ruins of the historic 
castle of San Lorenzo, erected by the engineer Juan AntonelH, 
by order of Philip II. of Spain. When the buccaneers under 
Henry Morgan raided Old Panama, in 1671, Captain Bradley 
went in advance and captured San Lorenzo, after which they 
all went up the river. The castle was again taken, in 1740, by 
the English under the command of Admiral Vernon. The 
mouth of the Chagres is 350 yards wide, and the channel is 
said to be three fathoms deep ; but the depth of water on the 
bar varies constantly. The point opposite the castle is known 
as Las Animas. Directly behind the bluff, invisible from the 
sea, on the right bank of the river, is the village of Chagres. 
Formerly a busy port, it now is a sleepy settlement of a few 
hundred people, containing a modern church and a public 
school. 

In early Spanish times the bulky merchandise for transit 
across the Isthmus from Puerto Bello was taken up the Chagres 
river as far as Venta de Cruces, and thence by land to Old or 
New Panama. For a year or two after the discovery of gold 
in California, and before the construction of the Panama Rail- 
road, steamers anchored off the Chagres in good weather and 
landed the gold-seekers in lighters.' They were then carried 
up the river in bongoes and canoes to Gorgona, or Cruces, 
where they left the river and crossed the trail to Panama, and 
there waited for a steamer going to San Francisco. The 
journey across the Isthmus often required a week, rates were 



^ As soon as the Panama Railroad reached Gatun, in 1851, the stream 
of gold-hunters turned from the mouth of the Chagres to Limon (Navy) 
Bay; and as that road gradually penetrated the jungle, the river traffic 
became less. When the railroad was completed, in 1855, the fare across 
was about twenty-five dollars in gold. Passengers were required to 
pay two dollars a head to the Isthmian Government for the privilege 
of passing from sea to sea. 

During the travel to and from the gold fields of California, the 
Isthmus was infested with criminals and rough characters from all 
over the world. The local authorities often were unable to control the 
unruly crowds. Respectable passengers were robbed, and sometimes 
murdered, provoking complaints from the various consuls. Conditions 
became so bad that the best citizens and foreign residents organized an 
Isthmian Guard, to keep order on the railroad between Aspinwall and 
Panama. Ran Runnels, formerly a Texan Ranger, the chief of the 
regulators, invested with absolute authority by Governor Urrutia 
Aiiino, rounded up the principal cut-throats, and quietly hanged them; 
when the rest of the gang hastened to leave the country. 

eight 



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From Jeffreys, West Indies, 1762. 

MOUTH OF THE CHAGRES RIVER AND CASTLE OF SAN LORENZO. 



M 



„a rrurbi.iii of 

C H A C R E . 



THB ISTHMUS 

high, hardships plentiful, and the dreaded "Chagres Fever" 
was lurking in every pool. 

A few miles east of the Chagres is Punta Brujas, or Witches' 
Point; and a couple of miles further is the lighthouse on Toro 
Point, marking the entrance to Limon Bay, on which are 
Colon, Cristobal, and the Atlantic terminus of the Panama 
Canal. The United States is now constructing a breakwater 
to protect the port and canal entrance from northers. When 
the Isthmus was a colony of Spain, Limon Bay was known as 
the port of Naos (Ships), and later as Navy Bay. In 1849 the 
newly organized Panama Railroad Company selected Man- 
zanillo Island, in Limon Bay, as the beginning point of their 
road. A town soen sprang up, which was called Aspinwall by 
the Americans. The part of the town about the railroad offices 
was known as Washington. When the French started the con- 
struction of the Interoceanic Canal, in 1881, they adopted the 
official name of the place, Colon, and for a time it was generally 
written Aspin wall-Colon. In 1890 the Government of Colom- 
bia, in order to put a stop to this confusion of names, directed 
the return of all correspondence not superscribed simply Colon. 
It is thus seen that Colon is a very young town as compared 
with most other places on the Isthmus. It should be remem- 
bered that Colon is within the territory of Panama ; while 
Cristobal, the American settlement in the Canal Zone, is under 
the jurisdiction of the United States. When the French had 
the canal they called Cristobal, Cristophe. 

From the sea' can be viewed the entrance of the canal, the 
quarters of the Americans under the cocoanut palms in Cris- 

* The following graphic description is from the pen of a former 
United States Minister to Colombia, and a gentleman thoroughly- 
familiar with the Isthmus : 

"As we lay at anchor by the wharf, the scorching rays of the sun had 
already drawn up the mists and vapors of the forenoon into great 
banks of clouds, which hung heavily on the mountain sides, or floated 
in broken fragments over intervening swamps and watercourses. It was 
easy to trace the serpentine course of 'the deadly Chagres' through the 
mountain fastnesses by the dense volume of white vapor which hovered 
just above the surface. Very soon these floating masses of steam (for 
they were little else) began to cohere and darken the sky, and in a 
few moments the sun was completely obscured. Then came a gust of 
damp, chilly wind, followed by a blinding flash of lightning and a 
deafening roar. The next moment the whole vapory mass came down 
in perfect torrents. I had witnessed many midsummer thunderstorms 
on our Gulf coast, but never before had I seen anything like this. The 
water seemed to come down not in a community of well-defined rain- 
drops, but in solid sheets, which soon covered the already wet and 
smoking earth to the depth of many inches. 



OLD PANAMA 

tobal, the stations of the Panama Railroad, steamship docks, 
Christ Church, the I. C. C. Hospital, and masts of the wireless 
station. 

The Panama Railroad, now the property of the United 
States, is not standard gauge, but five feet; and there is a 
story current on the Isthmus that the foundation of Cristobal 
Point was made largely with standard-gauge locomotives erro- 
neously ordered by the French management. I look upon the 
construction of the Panama Railroad, in 1850, by a few indi- 
viduals, as being as great, if not greater, an undertaking as the 
building of the canal by the United States at the present time. 
This was the first transcontinental railroad in the world, and 
from its completion, January 27, 1855, until the last spike was 
driven in the Pacific Railway, May 10, 1869, it remained the 
only rapid transit across the Western hemisphere. The 
Panama Railroad, between Gatun and Miraflores, is now being 
relocated above the level of the 85-foot contour, which will be 
the elevation of the completed Gatun Lake. 

In front of the Washington House, in Colon, facing the sea, 
is a triangular monument erected, in 1867, to the memory of 
William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens, and Henry Chauncey, 
founders of the road. Stephens gave his life to the toll of the 
Isthmus, as did Lieutenant Strain, Hosier, and many other 

"This downpour continued without cessation for about an hour, and 
then ceased altogether, quite as suddenly as it had begun. The sun 
now shone out with such dazzling brightness and power as to almost 
benumb the senses. The heat was intense beyond description. Very 
soon the hot, murky vapors began to rise in dense and sickening folds 
from the fever-laden earth. The lagoons and watercourses smoked 
like so many cauldrons. The perspiration streamed from every pore of 
the body. Bathe and shift your clothing never so often, yoxy were 
always wet and clammy. A strange feeling of suffocation came over 
you as you attempted to inhale the wet, poisonous atmosphere ; and one 
was made to think of the 'Carboniferous period,' when the earth was 
yet too new and crude and too densely enveloped in rank and noxious 
vapors to be a fit habitation for man — the era when birds were yet 
slimy reptiles, and the remote ancestors of the human race were with- 
out treetops in which to gambol. 

"This interval of roasting, or rather boiling, was of short duration, 
for very soon there was another sudden and ominous darkening of the 
sun, another chilly gust of wind, another blinding flash of lightning, 
followed by another downpour of the floods. And thus the long sum- 
mer day was made up of regular alternations of drenchings and roast- 
ings, with an ever-varying temperature ranging between the seventies 
and nineties, resulting in the usual complement of liver and stomach 
disorders, the end of which usually was violent and often fatal ague 
and fever." — "The Colombian and Venezuelan Republics," p. 5. By 
William L,. Scruggs. 



ten 




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Photo by Maduro, Panama. 

BRONZE STATUE OF COLUMBUS ON CRISTOBAL POINT. 



THB ISTHMUS 

noble men from Nicuesa, Balboa, and Francis Drake, down to 
the present time. 

On Cristobal Point, in front of De Lesseps's old palace, is a 
bronze statue presented to the Isthmian people by the Empress 
Eugenie. It represents Christopher Columbus, in heroic size, 
clasping an Indian maiden, emblematic of America, about the 
waist, to whom he is pointing out the grandeur of European 
civilization. The beautiful red maiden shrinks from the 
embrace of the white man, and is loath to view the wonders 
unfolded to her timid gaze. Her whole attitude is prophetic of 
the extermination of her race by so-called civilized people. This 
beautiful piece of art reached Aspinwall in 1868, long before 
the advent of Ferdinand de Lesseps and the French Canal 
Company. 

Colon has experienced about a dozen fires," the ultimate 
effects of which have been beneficial. The population of Colon, 
with Cristobal, is now over 15,000. 

Two miles back of Colon is seen the cemetery of Mt. Hope, 
commonly known as Monkey Hill, the involuntary sepulchre of 
so many luckless souls. Racial strife continues even in the 
jungles of Panama, and we find Gentile, Jew, and Chinaman 
occupying separate lots in this famous burial ground. Every 
evening the railroad runs a funeral train from Colon to the 
cemeteries. 

About eighteen miles northeast from Colon is the old 
fortified town of Portobelo. This place was first visited by 
Columbus in 1502, and, on account of the beauty and security 
of the harbor, he named it Puerto Bello, or Belpuerto. In for- 
mer times it was a populous and busy port, being the Atlantic 
terminus for most of the travel and commerce across the 
Isthmus. 

** March 30, 1885, Colon was entirely consumed,, with the exception of 
the buildings of the Panama Railroad, the French Canal Company, and 
the Pacific Mail Steamship Line. The loss was estimated at $6,000,000, 
and 10,000 persons were left shelterless. This fire was started by Pedro 
Prestan and a horde of dark-skinned insurgents, at the outset of a 
so-called "revolution." Prestan was a mulatto from Cartagena, and 
formerly was a member of the Assembly from Colon. He arrested 
Mr. Wright, the American consul; Captain Dow, general agent of the 
steamship company; the local agent, Mr. Conner; and lyieutenant Judd 
and Midshipman Richardson of the U. S. S. Galena, then in port. 
During the night Captain Kane of the warship landed a force, and the 
next day Colombian troops came over from Panama. Prestan and his 
gang were routed, but not before setting fire to the town. Prestan 
was afterwards captured, brought to Colon, and hanged, on the i8th of 
August, with several of his companions, the noose being adjusted by 
Captain Rountree, a notorious character in the old days. 

eleven 



OLD PANAMA 

To defend his bullion and galleons from the attacks of the 
pirates and buccaneers, Philip II. of Spain constructed at Puerto 
Bello four forts, or Castillos, called San Felipe, Santiago, San 
Jeronimo, and San Cristobal. San Felipe defended the entrance 
of the harbor, and was famous for being constructed in a 
superior manner/" 

In spite of these defenses, Portobelo suffered half a dozen 
invasions at the hands of the buccaneers, or of the English 
Navy. Francis Drake, in 1596, was the first to capture the 
town ; William Parker, in 1602 ; Henry Morgan, in 1669 ; Coxon 
and La Sound, in 1679; and Edward Vernon, in 1739. English- 
men seldom mention the capture of the place, in 1819, by the 
filibuster. Sir Gregor MacGregor, from which he was igno- 
miniously driven three weeks later by the Spaniards, under 
Governor Hore. A number of the English officers were shot 
at Cana, and the rest put in the chain gang. The body of Sir 
Francis Drake was placed in a leaden coffin and buried in the 
Caribbean Sea, a short distance off Portobelo, in 1596. A 
point of land, a little island, and a small port in the neighbor- 
hood, are called after him. In the palmy days of Portobelo the 
city held an annual fair, lasting sixty days, to which resorted 
merchants from all over the world. In modern times the popu- 
lation has dwindled away, and now it serves only as a place to 
procure stone for making concrete with which to build the locks 
for the American canal. Rock drills and dynamite now bom- 
bard the rocky north shore of Portobelo, and famous old 
San Felipe, the Iron Fort, has made its final surrender to the 
ruthless demands of utility and progress. The walls of their 
brag fort demolished and made into concrete! Surely, Felipe 
Segundo and Juan Antonelli must have turned in their graves ! 
Upon the approach of a violent storm shipping from Colon 
often seeks the better harbor at Portobelo. 

A few miles east and north of Portobelo is Punta de Man- 
zanillo, the northernmost land of Panama; and nearby is Isla 
Grande, on which is a lighthouse, showing alternate white and 
red light. Its exact position is 9° 39' north latitude, and_79° 35' 
west longitude. Several miles from this light, in the direction 
of Portobelo, is a little port called Bastimento, which should 
not be confounded with the anchorage of Bastimentos, off 
Nombre de Dios, much frequented by the early navigators. 

East of Point Manzanillo is the exposed bay of San Cristobal, 



^" San Felipe, todo de hierro; called the Iron Fort by the British. 
"Notwithftanding all the pains taken to fortify it, there are few places 
which have fallen oftener into the hands of an enemy than Porto Velo." 

twelve 



THE ISTHMUS 

upon the shore of which Nicuesa started a settlement in 1510. 
When the first governor of Castilla del Oro arrived at this place 
he exclaimed : "Detengdmonos aqui, en nombre de Dios! " 
("Let us stop here, in the name of God!") Thus was named 
in advance the town of Nombre de Dios, which for fifty years 
remained the Caribbean port for transisthmian commerce, 
and the beginning of the trail leading to Old Panama, on the 
South Sea. The harbor was unsheltered, and the site unhealthy, 
and after Sir Francis Drake, in 1572, showed how easy it was 
to rob the place, which he called "The Treasure House of the 
World," the people and business of Nombre de Dios were 
moved to Puerto Bello, between 1584 and 1597, by command 
of Philip 11. Nombre de Dios is often identified w4th the 
Puerto de Bastimentos of the great admiral. The present 
pueblo of Nombre de Dios, also known locally as Fato, con- 
sists of about 200 houses and shacks on the shore of the 
Caribbean Sea, between the Nombre de Dios river, on the 
west, and the Fato river, on the east. The population, as in 
other coastal towns about the Caribbean, is mostly negro. Here, 
as elsewhere, the North Americans have wrought radical 
changes among time-honored conditions. They show no vene- 
ration for age, nor respect for the achievements or romance of 
antiquity. United States engineers are dredging sand at 
Nombre de Dios for use in making the canal locks in the 
Gatun dam. Giant machinery is now upturning the soil trod 
by Nicuesa, Pizarro, Espinosa, Drake, and other famous men. 
The Americans are introducing, as some believe, a better order 
of things; and screened houses, water-works, sanitation, and 
a modern hospital are replacing the old costiimbres del pais. 

On the night of April 8, 1910, a spark from an I. C. C. loco- 
motive, used in connection with the sand dredging operations, 
started a fire in the town, which destroyed seventy-three build- 
ings. All the burnt houses have been rebuilt by the Commission 
with material brought from the Canal Zone, in a better manner 
and upon a more salubrious site, 450 yards from the beach. 
Deposits of excellent sand underlie the burned area, to which 
the dredge is now working from the mouth of the river. The 
port, never a safe haven, has been somewhat filled up since 
early Spanish times, but the dredging will leave behind it a 
very good little harbor. Recently, the hull of a ship, centuries 
old, has been uncovered. 

One mile east of Nombre de Dios, opposite' the islet called 
Playa Dama, is a landing, or wharf, from which a little railroad 
runs back to some manganese mines in the foothills. Three 

thirteen 



OLD PANAMA 

miles eastward along the coast is situated the hamlet of Viento 
Frio, and ten miles beyond we come to the port and village of 
Palenque, originally settled by fugitive negro slaves. They 
were called Simeroons, and frequently joined with the Indians 
and buccaneers in assailing the Spanish colonists. 

Ten miles further on is the little port of Bscribanos, visited 
by Columbus, and named by him "Bl Retrete" (The Closet). 

A dozen miles to the east of Escribanos you round Point San 
Blas'^ within which is the Bay of San Bias, or Mandinga Bay, 
as it is frequently called. Along this coast for fifty miles is a 
string of little islands and keys, known as the Archipielago de 
las Mulatas, called by Columbus Islas Barhas, "more numer- 
ous than the days of the year," according to a local saying. 

But little accurate information is available concerning this 
part of the coast, as the country is inhabited by the San Bias 
Indians, and they have held their country inviolate for cen- 
turies. These Indians will trade with outsiders, but strangers, 
whether white or black, are not allowed to remain among them 
over night. The San Bias are fine seamen, and often travel to 
Colon in their dugouts. They are occasionally seen with the 
nose-ring, or plate, described by the early visitors to these parts. 

When Nicuesa first sailed along this coast he stopped in a 
small port on the river Pito, in the Indian province of Cueba, 
and said mass, the first in Castilla del Oro, in honor of which 
he called the place Misas. The early Spaniards called Cueba 
the land of confusion, because it had no chief. 

When the Spaniards first came to Tierra Firme the Caciques 
Pocorosa, Comagre, Ponca, and Careta held dominion along 
this coast. The white men's inhumanity soon turned their 
simple friendship into bitter enmity. Ayora started the settle- 
ment of Santa Cruz on this shore, but Pocorosa drove them 
out after six months, only five Spaniards escaping to Antigua. 

After leaving the Mulatas you come to a projection of the 
mainland called Punta Mosquito, from which the coast dips 
southeast to the entrance of the Gulf of Uraba. About ten 
miles from Mosquito Point is the elevated Island of Pines, a 
favorite rendezvous of the old buccaneers. 

^Lionel Wafer states that three leagues west of Point Samballas (San 
Bias) was Port Scrivan, and that it was there that Captains Coxon, 
La Sound, and other privateers landed in the year 1678-9 when they 
went to take Portobel, so as not to be discovered by the Spanish 
scouts. A little west of Port Scrivan came the river of Conception, 
off which was La Sound's Key, and Springer's Key, favorite resorts of 
the buccaneers because they furnished good water upon digging wells, 
and afforded safe shelter for careening. 

fourteen 



THE ISTHMUS 

Late in the year 15 15, Pedrarias sailed from Antigua, and, 
somewhere west of the Indian village of Careta, started the 
first of a line of posts to extend to the South Sea. The place 
was called Ada, signifying, in the Indian language, "Bones of 
Men." It has been variously located opposite the Island of 
Pines, near the present Puerto Carreto, and opposite Isla de 
Oro. At Ada, in 15 17, Balboa, who discovered the Pacific 
Ocean, was beheaded by order of the infamous Pedrarias. 

Nearby is Caledonia Bay"* and Puerto Bscoces. The cape 
commanding the approach to the bay is still called Punta 
Escocesa (Scotch Point). Here, in 1698, William Paterson, 
founder of the bank of England, established a well-planned 
colony of Scotch people, with the intention to control the trade 
of the two oceans. The hardy northern colonists disappeared 
rapidly in this torrid climate, and the Spanish Government 
forced them to retire. In January, 1854, the United States 
Darien Expedition, under Lieutenant Strain, started out from 
Caledonia Bay on its ill-fated journey across the Isthmus. 

This brings us to Puerto la Miel, which marks the limit of 
Panama; beyond which, in the territory of Colombia, is Cape 
Tiburon, and the Gulf of Uraba (or Gulf of Darien), into 
which empties the Atrato river. 

In Anachucuna Bay, west of Cape Tiburon, is a little anchor- 
age, called Puerto Escondido. There were other escondidos, 
or hidden ports, mentioned by the older writers, one of which 
is located on the western shore of the Gulf of Uraba. 

At the time of the Discovery, this entire region, the Indians 
inhabiting the same, and their chief town, were all called 
Darien. The principal cacique was named Cemaco. 

" Geographically and historically, Caledonia Bay is one of the most 
important spots on the Isthmus. The mouth of the bay is between 
Punta Escocesa, on the east, and Isla de Oro (called also Santa Cata- 
lina), four miles to the northwest. Caledonia Bay is almost tideless. 
Within the shelter of the peninsula forming Scotch Point is Puerto 
Escoces (Scots Harbor). Between Isla de Oro (Golden Island) and 
Punta San Fulgencio, on the mainland, is the entrance to the anchorage 
of Caledonia or Sasardi, a stretch of water about seven miles long, 
protected by Golden, Sasardi, and other islands. On the northwest this 
channel is limited by the prominent headland called Sasardi Point. 

It is sometimes stated that Caledonia Bay is the old Puerto Carreto, 
usually placed three leagues to the eastward. Most likely the old settle- 
ment of Ada (Agla) was on the Rio Aglaseniqua, which empties oppo- 
site Golden Island. West and north of Sasardi Point is the Island of 
Pines, covered with trees, and on it a rivulet of fresh water. West- 
ward for three leagues come rocky keys, and then a little sandy bay, 
called by the privateers 'Tickle Me Quickly Harbour." 

fifteen 



OLD PANAMA 

On the left bank of the Atrato, about a league and a half 
from its mouth, is where the shipwrecked Bachiller Encisco 
and his companions landed, captured Cemaco's village, and 
there started, early in 15 lo, the first permanent settlement of 
white men on the continent of the New World. This honor is 
sometimes claimed for Nombre de Dios, the exact dates of the 
two settlements being unknown." In homage to the celebrated 
image, Nuestra Senora de la Antigua, in Seville, they called the 
place Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien, an appellation 
which it could not long survive. With Encisco were Balboa 
and Pizarro, both destined to win fame in the new continent. 
Antigua was settled after the failure of Ojeda's colony at San 
Sebastian, on the east shore of the Gulf of Uraba. Antigua, 
being west of the mid-line of the gulf, was in Castilla del Oro, 
and thus subject only to Nicuesa, a point which Balboa made 
when he deposed Encisco. From Antigua went Balboa to 
discover the South Sea, and from here he departed in search 
of the fabled temple of gold, called Dabaibe, somewhere up the 
great river of Darien, now known as the Atrato. He found 
no golden temple, but did encounter a tribe of Indians, whose 
chief was Abibeiba, making their homes in the treetops. The 
Darien section of the Isthmus, like much of Yeragua, is less 
known today than it was four hundred years ago. 

Cabo Tiburon is the western headland of the Gulf of Uraba 
(Darien), and it is claimed that about this point Columbus, on 
his last voyage, on account of the rottenness of his ships, gave 
up his vain quest for the strait which was to bear him to the 
splendors of the court of Kubla Khan. 

The boundary between Colombia and Panama begins at Port 
Miel, before mentioned, passes up the Rio la Miel, and then 
follows the serrania, or mountain chain, of Darien to the Altos 
of Aspave, between Points Ardita and Cocalito, on the Pacific. 
From here the coast line of the Isthmus runs northwest, 
passing Punta Pifias and Punta Caracoles, till it reaches Point 
Garachine, at the entrance of the Gulf of San Miguel, into 
which empties the large Tuira river. On the left bank of this 
river, in colonial days, was Santa Maria, or Villa Maria, the 

" I believe Antigua was the first to be settled. The location of this 
town has never been determined with certitude. Antigua was on a river 
emptying on the west side of the Gulf of Uraba, and the settlement was 
a league from the entrance to the river. Some believe this river was 
the one now called the Tanela, or Tarena. 



THU ISTHMUS 

depository for the gold from the rich mines of Cana" (Santa 
Cms de Cana). For vessels of light draft the Tuira is navi- 
gable for one hundred miles. 

When the buccaneers first extended their depredations on the 
land from the North Sea, they followed the San Miguel route, 
and Santa Maria fell a frequent prey to their spoliation. For 
this reason the mines were closed by royal decree in 1685. 

It was from the mountain top of Pirre that Vasco Nuiiez de 
Balboa first saw the Pacific Ocean (Mar del Sur), on the 25th 
day of September, 15 13. On the 29th of the same month, St. 
Michael's day, he waded into the Gulf of San Miguel, and took 
formal possession of the sea, and all the lands and islands bor- 
dering upon that sea, from pole to pole, for his sovereign of 
Castile and Leon, till the day of judgment. 

From a like summit further west Drake first viewed the 
South Sea, and prayed that God might some day permit him 
to sail an English ship on that sea. His prayer was granted, 
for Sir Francis Drake was the second navigator to go around 
the world, and his vessel, the Golden Hind, the first ship to 
completely circumnavigate the earth. With Drake at that time 
was John Oxenham, with the same longing filling his breast. 
He beat his commander to the South Sea, and was the first 
Englishman to launch a ship on the Pacific. Oxenham was 
captured shortly afterwards by the Spaniards, and executed as 
a pirate in Lima, as related in another chapter. 

The south coast of Panama makes a big bend towards the 
north, forming the large Gulf of Panama, which is 2° of longi- 
tude wide, and nearly 2° of latitude deep. About the center of 
the gulf is the Archipielago de las Perlas, or Pearl Islands, 
composed of thirty-nine islands and many more keys and rocks. 
The largest island of the group is now called Isla del Rey, San 
Miguel, or Columbia ; but was named Isla Rica by Balboa, who 
was the first white man to view these islands. Terarequi was 
the Indian name for this island. 

Along the coast towards Panama, guarding the mouth of the 
Chepo, is the little island of Chepillo. On the Rio Mamoni, a 
branch of the Chepo, is the town of Chepo, named after the 

" "The richest gold mines ever yet found in America," writes Dam- 
pier, in 1684. The place is situated in the Espiritu Santo mountains, 
and was founded by Captain Meneses, with the name of Santa Cruz, 
during the reign of Pedrarias Davila. At one time the mines attracted 
a population of 20,000 souls. The raids of the buccaneers, followed by 
the Indian insurrection of 1724, caused the Spaniards to abandon the 
settlement. An English outfit, countrymen of the old buccaneers, is 
now exploiting these old mines. 

I 

seventeen 



OLD PANAMA 

cacique of that name. The place was invaded four times by 
the buccaneers, the first attack being in 1675, by a party of 120 
men, led by Captain La Sanda (La Sound). 

At the top of the gulf is situated the present city of Panama, 
founded in 1674 by Don Alonso Mercado de Villacorta, three 
years after the destruction of Old Panama. Unlike the old 
city, the new town was protected by strong seawalls," mounted 
with bronze cannon. Besides these, there were four bastions on 
the land side, called La Merced, Jesus, San Jose, and San 
Carlos. Later, another fortification was constructed, named 
Mano de Tigre. The new city was better situated than Old 
Panama and grew rapidly. It was regularly laid out about a 
central plaza, after plans drawn by the Council of the Indies 
for the founding of cities. The cathedral, the governor's house, 
and bishop's palace faced upon the plaza, and there was the 
usual proportion of churches and convents throughout the city. 

The masonry of the old Spanish-American churches always 
excites our admiration. These structures were erected by the 
sweat and blood of toiling Indians; temples to the creed of 
another people constituting their own monuments. The flat 
arch of the ruined church of Santo Domingo is one of the 
wonders of architecture, continuing to stand in defiance of the 
laws of gravity and the trembling of earthquakes. The oldest 
church still in use is San Felipe Neri, built in 1688. One of 
the finest ruins is that of the Jesuits' college. The cathedral, 
with its two high towers, was erected in 1760. The palace of 
the President, foreign legations, municipal offices, and leading 
business houses are all within a short distance of Central Park 
{Plaza de la Catedral). Until recently the Canal Headquar- 
ters, formerly the Grand Hotel, faced upon this plaza. The 
buildings, mostly of two stories, are constructed mainly of 
mamposteria, a kind of concrete. Modern Panama possesses 
public schools, a good market, the Chiriqui barracks, Santo 
Tomas hospital, and cemeteries for every race and creed. The 
university was established in 1751. 

It was in the old Cabildo, still fronting the plaza, that the 
Junta declared the Isthmus independent" of the Spanish Gov- 



"The fortifications cost so much money that the King of Spain, 
gazing out his palace window, inquired of his ministers if the walls of 
Panama were not visible. 

"At the instigation of Simon Bolivar, El Libertador, a call was sent 
out, in 1822, for a junta of Americanists to meet at Panama, with the 
object of opposing the machinations of the so-called "Holy Alliance" 
towards the resubjugation of Spain's revolted colonies in America. 
In addition to the Spanish republics, the United States, England, and 

eighteen 



THE ISTHMUS 

ernment, on November 28, 1821." At that time a great many- 
people of the Isthmus wished to establish an independent 
republic, instead of joining with Colombia, but the fruition of 
their desires did not occur until November 3, 1903. Until the 
latter occurrence, the 28th of the same month remained a great 
fiesta on the Isthmus. 

Under the Hay-Bunau-Varilla treaty, formulated November 
18, 1903, the United States secured from Panama sovereign 
rights in the Canal Zone — a transisthmian strip of land extend- 
ing for five miles on each side of the projected canal — a monop- 
oly of transit from sea to sea, the control of sanitation in the 
cities of Panama and Colon, power to erect defenses for the 
canal, and authority to condemn and use property necessary for 
the construction and maintenance of the canal. The United 
States guarantees the independence of the Republic of Panama, 
and declares the ports at either end of the canal to be forever 
free. Both governments soon ratified this treaty, and on 
February 26, 1904, the ratifications were exchanged at Wash- 
ington. 

The present city of Panama, capital of the republic, is situ- 
ated at the foot of Ancon Mountain, on a rocky peninsula of 
land jutting out into the bay. Its population at this time is 
35,000. 

The Americans have introduced sewerage, water-works, and 
paved streets. Fumigation and screening against mosquitoes 
are required, and it is a crime to breed these pests on one's 
premises. The general sanitary supervision of Panama is better 
than that of Philadelphia or Chicago. Joining Panama is the 
American colony of Ancon, and extending up the sides of 
Ancon Hill are the numerous pavilions of Ancon Hospital, in 
which are treated most of the sick of the Canal Commission. 

In former times the present city has witnessed carnivals of 

Holland were invited to send delegates. Those from the United States 
took no active part in the deliberations. R. G. Anderson, then our 
minister at Bogota, died in Cartagena, on his way to attend the junta. 
The congress met at Panama June 22, 1826. Before that time, Decem- 
ber 2, 1823, President Monroe, in his message to the United States 
Congress, promulgated the American doctrine of Noli-Me-Tangere — a 
warning to European powers not to meddle in the affairs of the Western 
hemisphere. 

" Colonel Jose de Fabrega, an istmeiio by birth, became Governor of 
Panama, with the title of Jefe Superior del Istmo. The new govern- 
ment forbade the importation of African slaves. Negro children born 
after June 21, 1821, were free. Slaves were allowed to purchase their 
freedom ; and those remaining in bondage in 1850 were redeemed by 
the government and given their liberty. ; 

nineteen 



OLD PANAMA 

crime, like the massacre" of the passengers of the steamship 
Illinois, on the evening of April 15, 1856, over which it were 
well to draw the veil of oblivion. 

Five miles east of the modern Panama is the site of the 
famous city of Old Panama, called the "Gold Cup," on account 
of the riches it contained. Captains Diego de Albites and 
Antonio Tello de Guzman, while raiding the south shore of the 
Isthmus late in 15 15, arrived at a fishing hamlet, called Panama. 
The name in the aboriginal tongue means "A place where many 
fish are taken." In 1517, Caspar de Espinosa, the alcalde 
mayor, established at Panama the southern terminus of the line 
of stations to extend across the Isthmus. On August 15, 15 19, 
Pedrarias, the governor, formally founded the city of Old 
Panama. The same year Nombre de Dios, which had been 
abandoned, was reoccupied by Albites, and a permanent road, 
or trail, was made from sea to sea, between the two settlements. 

Pedrarias moved his household over to Panama, leaving the 
veedor, Oviedo — afterwards the historian of the Indies — in 
command at Antigua. Probably in 1521, Bishop Peraza, the 
successor of Quevedo, moved his Episcopal chair from Antigua 
to the new city. 

By royal decree dated at Burgos, September 15, 1521, the 
Emperor Charles V. created Panama a city with the title of 
"Nueva Ciudad de Panama." He gave it a coat-of-arms, con- 
sisting of a shield bordered with castles and lions, surmounted 
by a crown. On the shield a golden field divided ; on the right 

"The Panamenos call this unfortunate encounter, The Question of 
the Slice of Watermelon {"La Cuestion de la Tajada de Sandia"). It 
was really a race riot, the local blacks and negroids assaulting the 
white passengers who had just come over from Aspinwall and were 
waiting to board a steamer for California. Jack Oliver, a drunken 
passenger, disputed the price of a piece of melon in a shop in La 
Cienaga. Oliver called the frutero bad names in worse Spanish, and 
the native loungers took sides with their countr3mian. Crying "Mueron 
los hlancos!" the negroes attacked the 250 or 300 white passengers, of 
both sexes, from the Illinois. The whites sought shelter in the railroad 
station, near the bay shore, where they were besieged for hours by the 
negroes. When the soldiers finally arrived they acted in sympathy with 
the mob, and it was a long time before the fight ended. The United 
States warship St. Mary, then in Panama Bay, assisted the passengers, 
and stood ready to bombard the city. Estimates of the killed vary 
from fifteen to sixty, nearly all being white passengers. For a long 
period after this bloodshed travelers hurried over the Isthmus without 
spending their money in Panama. Years of vexatious diplomatic corre- 
spondence followed ; the matter was referred to a mixed Commission ; 
and finally settled by New Granada paying the United States $400,000 
in gold, as indemnification for the injuries suffered by American 
citizens. 

twenty 



THE ISTHMUS 

a yoke, the device of the Catholic kings, and a handful of 
arrows ; on the left two caravels, with the north star above. A 
decree of December 3, 1581, dated at Lisbon, added the title 
"Muy Noble y Muy Led" (Very Illustrious and Very Loyal). 

The regidores, or councilmen, enjoyed the title of veinte- 
cuatros, and the royal tax was reduced from one-fifth to a tenth. 
Old Panama {Panama Vie jo) was the first settlement by Euro- 
peans on the western shore of America. It was here that 
Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro, and Hernando de Luque, 
in 1525, made their historic contract for the discovery and con- 
quest of Peru. For many years it was the metropolis of the 
South Sea, and was the entrepot for the bullion of Peru and 
the silks and spices of the Orient. From Panama Viejo they 
were carried across the Isthmus to be loaded on the Spanish 
galleons at Nombre de Dios or Puerto Bello. Venta de Cruces" 
and Venta de Chagre (where the road crossed the Chagres 
river) were halfway stations to the north coast. They used 
to pack silver and gold over this road like cordwood. It was 
near Cruces that Francis Drake, privateer, or pirate, as you 
choose to call him, made his bootless capture of the plate-train 
on the night of February 14, 1573. Nearly a centiu-y later, in 
1671, the buccaneers, under Henry Morgan, ascended the 
Chagres as far as Cruces, and then proceeded overland to Old 
Panama. The buccaneers assert they found Cruces in flames, 
while Spanish writers affirm that the pirates set fire to the town. 

The population of the city of Panama at this time comprised 
at least 30,000 souls. Old Panama was not fortified, but it 
was protected on three sides by the sea and marshes, and on 

"Called Venta Cruz by the pirates and privateers, and later abbre- 
viated to Cruces. Situated on the south bank of the Chagres river, 
surrounded by hills, and at an altitude of 78 meters. This old town is 
only a few miles east of Bas Obispo Station, on the P. R. R., but is 
seldom visited nowadays. For three centuries it was a resting-place for 
travelers, and a general depository for merchandise in transit. Vice- 
roys and vice-queens, as well as adventurers and cut-throats of all 
nationalities, have traveled over the old highway leading through Venta 
de Cruces. The town possessed a fine church, custom-houses, ware- 
houses, and stables for the King's recuas. At Drake's visit, Cruces con- 
tained about fifty houses. The present village consists of a like number 
of shacks, covered with thatch. By the tumble-down chapel, on the 
hill, built on the ruins of the old church, went the Camino Real, the 
paving stones of which are still in place; and nearby can be seen a 
couple of old anchors, half buried in the earth, relics of the early days. 
The dwellers in modern Cruces are well tinted with black, and look as 
if they might be descendants of the Cimarrones who infested this 
region. In colonial times the jurisdiction and incomes from Cruces 
appertained to the illustrious house of the Urriolas. 

twenty-one 



OLD PANAMA 

the land side was a causeway, in which was a bridge, still in 
existence, permitting the tidal water to pass under. It is hard 
to understand why the Spaniards left their natural stronghold 
to fight Morgan's men in the Savannas. 

The Spaniards, always excellent horsemen, sallied out in two 
squadrons to meet the pirates. The houcaniers, or cattle hunters 
of Tortuga, had been placed in front, and, being excellent 
marksmen, rapidly depleted the Spanish horse. The cavalry 
fell back on the Spanish foot and threw it into confusion. At 
the same time a herd of wild cattle, which had been collected 
to drive over the pirates, stampeded in every direction except 
towards the enemy, and the pirates soon possessed the city. 
This was the i8th day of January, 1671. Before night the city 
was in flames, an act generally ascribed, erroneously, I believe, 
to the commands of Morgan. The buccaneers remained in 
Panama nearly a month, during which time they visited the 
islands of the bay and the neighboring country. February 14, 
167 1, Morgan departed from Old Panama for the mouth of 
the Chagres, with 600 prisoners and 175 mules loaded with loot. 

At the time of its destruction Old Panama contained a 
magnificent cathedral, and several beautiful churches, and 
eight convents. There were more than 200 warehouses stocked 
with foreign goods, 200 residences of European elegance, and 
5000 houses of the common sort. Besides, the city possessed a 
mint, a large hospital, the King's stables, and a market for 
slaves, conducted by some Genoese. 

The tower of the old Cathedral of San Geronimo,"^ still 
standing, four stories in height, is visible from the present city 
of Panama, and from far out in the bay. The rest of the ruins 
are hidden with rank tropical growth. 

A few miles west of modern Panama, on the other side of 
Ancon and Sosa hills, is La Boca, or Balboa,^ at the mouth of 

"" In this I agree with Markham. Robinson gives the French designa- 
tion, St. Jerome. Both Nelson and Masefield call the, tower St. Anas- 
tasius. The first cathedral, destroyed by fire, was named Santa Maria 
La Antigua del Darien, after the first church in Antigua. Governor 
Guzman, describing the fall of the city, writes of the Cathedral of 
St. Francis. A recent writer calls it St. Augustin. 

^At the suggestion of the Minister from Peru (the nation most 
benefited by Balboa's discovery), the United States authorities at 
Panama, on April 30, 1909, changed the name of the Pacific end of 
the Isthmian Canal from the simple La Boca (The Mouth) to Balboa, 
to commemorate the discoverer of the South Sea; just as Cristobal 
Colon, at the Atlantic entrance to the canal, honors the memory of 
Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America, and the first Euro- 
pean to visit Limon Bay and the western half of the Isthmus. 

ttvcnty-two 



THB ISTHMUS 

the Rio Grande river, the Pacific end of the Isthmian Canal. 
La Boca has extensive piers for docking ocean steamers, shops, 
and quarters for American employees. 

In front of Panama and Balboa, several miles from the 
shore, are the islands of Naos, Flamenco, Perico, and Culebra, 
which give protection to the shipping in the bay. The tide"^ 
frequently rises to a height of twenty feet. At low water small 
vessels rest on the sands beneath the city walls, and are 
unloaded into carts. Farther out are the islands of Taboga, 
Taboguilla, and others.'^ It was from the little port of Taboga 
that Pizarro's expedition sailed for Peru. The Canal Com- 
mission now maintains a convalescent sanitarium on Taboga. 
Turtles and whales were formerly seen in the vicinity of the 
island. 

The Bay of Panama has been the scene of exploits unsur- 
passed in the legends of Greece, and needing only a Homer tO" 
make them appear heroic. 

The success of Morgan induced the buccaneers to make 
other expeditions over the Isthmus, and into the South Sea. 
The next large party, consisting of 331 men, mostly English, 
under Captains Coxon, Sawkins, Sharp, and others, left Golden 
Island on the 5th day of April, 1680, and were guided across 
the land by friendly Indians. Disappointed in not finding more 
booty at Santa Maria, most of them continued down the Gulf 
of San Miguel into the Bay of Panama. Seizing some small 
vessels, they had a fierce naval fight before Panama with three 
Spanish ships, two of which were captured. After committing 
other depredations, they dispersed up and down the west coast. 

^As the difference between high and low water at Colon is only 
about eighteen inches, this introduces a conspicuous factor in the con- 
sideration of a lockless or sea-level canal through the Isthmus.^ The 
mean levels of both oceans being equal, it follows that when it was 
low tide in Panama Bay there would he a current from the Colon 
side; and during high tide at Panama the flow would be towards the 
Atlantic end of the canal. 

"El movimiento de las mareas en el puerto de Colon tiene un atraso 
de nueve horas con respecto al de las de Panama; por consiguiente 
cuando es pleamar 6 bajamar en Panama, no hay mas que media marea 
en Colon, y cada dia la diferencia maxima de nivel entre los dos mares 
es ignal a la media amplitud de la marea del Pacifico, menos el cuarto 
de la amplitud tolal de la marea del Atlantic©, 6 sea, reduciendolo a 
cifras, 3. m 20 — 0. m 15=3. m 05." — ^Valdes. 

^The islands in the bay were called the gardens of Panama, because 
they supplied much of the provisions for the city. 



twenty-three 



OLD PANAMA 

Lionel Wafer, surgeon to the buccaneers, describes the two 
Panamas, as seen from their ships at that time.'* 

May 28, 1685, Edward Davis, commanding 1000 buccaneers, 
had an encounter with a Spanish Armada of eighteen vessels 
off the Pearl Islands. 

August 22, 1686, Captain Townley, while lying at Taboga, 
came near being taken by Spanish ships, but won out after a 
bloody fight. He died of wounds shortly after, but not before 
he had sent a demand for supplies to the Commandant of 
Panama (the new city), accompanied by a canoe-load of 
Spanish heads. As late as 1819, Captain Illingsworth and his 
party of Chilians landed on Taboga, and sacked and burnt the 
village. 

From Panama the land makes a sweep to the south and west 
to Punta Mala, marking the western headland to the gulf. 
Parita Bay projects into the west shore, between the provinces 
of Code and Santos. This was the region ruled by Paris, 
whose name it commemorates, one of the few Indian chieftains 
who successfully repulsed the Conquistadores. 

From the west coast of the Gulf of Panama empty many 
rivers, which give access to towns of fair size a few miles 
inland, like Chorrera, Chame, Penonome, Nata, Aguadulce, Los 
Santos, Parita, and Pese. Near La Chorrera, famous as a 

" "Between the River of Cheapo and Panama, further Weft, are three 
Rivers, of no great Confequence, lying open to the Sea. The Land 
between is low even Land, moft of it dry, and cover'd here and there 
by the Sea, with fhort Bufhes. Near the moft Wefterly of thefe Old 
Panama was f eated, once a large City ; but nothing now remains of it, 
befides Rubbifh, and a few Houfes of poor People. The Spaniards 
were weary of it, having no good Port or Landing-place ; and had a 
defign to have left it, before it was burnt by Sir Henry Morgan. But 
then they no longer deliberated about the Matter; but inftead of 
rebuilding it, raifed another Town to the Weftward, which is the 
prefent City of Panama. The River of Old Panama runs between 
them ; but rather nearer the new Town than the Old ; and into this 
3R.iver fmall Barks may enter. The chief Advantage which New 
Panama hath above the Old, is an excellent Road for fmall ships, as 
good as a Harbour ; for which it is beholden to the Shelter of the 
neighbouring Ifles of Perico, which lie before it, three in number, in 
a Row parallel to the Shore. * * * * 

"Panama ftands on a level ground, and is furrounded with a high 
Wall, efpecially towards the Sea. It hath no Fort befides the Town- 
Walls; upon which the Sea beats fo ftrongly, fometimes, as to throw 
down a part of them. It makes a very beautiful Profpect off at Sea, 
the Churches and chief Houfes appearing above the reft. The Building 
appears white ; efpecially the Walls, which are of Stone, and the Cov- 
ering of the Houfes red, fo probably they are Pan-tile, which is much 
used by the Spaniards all over the West-Indies," 

tzvcnty-four 



THB ISTHMUS 

health resort, is a beautiful little waterfall in the Rio Caimito. 
Chame, a name of Indian origin, abounds in maize and fruits, 
which are marketed in Panama. 

Penonome is another town named after an aboriginal chief- 
tain. Natd is one of the oldest European settlements on the 
Isthmus, being established on the site of an Indian village, 
whose chief was Nata, taken by Caspar de Espinosa in 15 17. 
Destroyed by the natives in 1529, Governor Pedrarias re- 
established it under the name of Santiago de los Caballeros "' 
(St. James, City of the Centlemen), but the primitive designa- 
tion has survived. The old church at Nata is a fine example 
of the style in vogue at that period. 

Aguadulce was formerly known as Trinidad. It is a ship- 
ping point for salt and cattle, and also for the coffee raised 
about Santa Fe. 

Los Santos, called Villa in colonial days, was the first place 
on the Isthmus, in 1821, to declare for independence; since 
which it has been known as the Heroic City. It was settled by 
people from Nata, on the site of an Indian village ruled by Gua- 
zan. La Villa de Los Santos became, in 185 1, the capital of the 
short-lived province of Azuero. 

Parita is situate upon the river and gulf of the same name. 
The district is noted for stock-raising and agriculture. 

Pese has grown from an aboriginal settlement of the same 
name to a place of culture and refinement. 

From Punta Mala the coast trends west again as far as 
Punta Mariato, where the land turns directly north, making the 
beautiful gulf or bay of Montijo, which gives entrance to 
Puerto Mutis, Sona, and Santiago.'' The mouth of the bay is 
protected by the Island of Cebaco, probably the island first 
visited, in 1516, by Hurtado, to whom Cacique Cebaco gave a 
golden armor, valued at 1000 castellanos. 

Farther west, and twenty-five kilometers from the coast, is 
Coiha, the largest island in Panaman waters. It was formerly 
called Quibo,"' and was much frequented by the buccaneers 
when they operated in the South Sea, 

^^ According to Ulloa, "St. Jago de Nata de los Cavalleros" was dis- 
covered by Captain Alonso Perez de la Rua, in 1515, when Nata was 
prince of this district. 

"" Santiago was the capital of the old province of Veragua. In 1862 
Governor Guardia, when driven out by the black "liberals," removed 
his government from Panama to Santiago. He was killed shortly 
afterwards, and Santiago was plundered. 

'"When Lord Anson made his celebrated circumnavigation of the 
world, he stopped at Quibo, on the 3d of December, 1741. He found 
there tigers, deer, plenty of birds, hawk's-bill and green turtles, sharks, 

twenty-five 



OLD PANAMA 

From here the coast line extends westward to Punta Burica, 
the entrance to Golfo Dulce. Near the coast are the towns of 
Remedios, San Felix, San Lorenzo, David, and Alanje.^ 

Remedios," which is also called Pueblo Nuevo, was one of the 
first Spanish settlements in the western part of the Isthmus. 
Some of the old mines about Remedios are still being worked. 
It was here that Captain Richard Sawkins was killed, and the 
buccaneers repulsed, in 1680. 

San Felix was originally called Las Lajas, from the lava beds 
in the vicinity. Near the town are some thermal springs. 

San Lorenzo is noted for the salubrity of its climate and the 
good quality of the tobacco raised in the neighborhood. 

A group of islands marks the entrance to Pedregal, the port 
of the city of David. Vessels drawing ten feet can go in the 
river and tie up to the bank, or at the new pier at Pedregal. 
David is the capital of Chiriqui province, and contains about 
9000 souls. It is situated on an extensive llano, or plain, three 
miles from the landing, and is one of the most delightful and 
interesting of Spanish-American towns. The Panamanian; 
Government is now surveying a route for a railroad between 
David and Panama, which will pass through many of the towns 
just mentioned. The line, 275 miles in length, differs somewhat 
from the Pan-American survey of fifteen years ago, and will 
cross the canal at Empire, C. Z. The most prominent feature 
of this province is the Volcano of Chiriqui, rising to a height of 
10,265 feet. It was formerly called Bl Volcan de Baru, and has 
been inactive for many years. "El Volcan" is about twenty-five 
miles from either coast, and plainly visible from both oceans. 
In the mountains, behind the volcano, is the pretty little valley 
of Boquete, famous for the excellence of its coffee, and the 
healthfulness of its climate. 

and a waterfall 150 feet high. In 1794, Captain Collnett visited the 
island, and was bitten by the dreaded hooded snake, from which he 
nearly died. 

^ Travelers who see only the Canal Zone, and the cities of Panama, 
Colon, and Bocas del Toro, should not infer that nearly all Pana- 
manians are negroes or black mixtures. Most of the inhabitants of the 
smaller towns are Spanish, or mestizos (Spanish and Indian), generally 
called Cholos. When I was last in David, there was but one negro in 
the place; and if the Chiriquenos are wise, they will keep Africans out 
of their province. 

All over the warm regions of America the imported African has 
become a voracious parasite, like the giant tree-killing vine known as 
the matapalo, destroying and replacing the white man and the Indian. 

"'" Ulloa calls the place "Nuestra Senora de los Remedios de Puehlo- 
Nuevo." In 1685, Pueblo Nuevo was taken and sacked by Francois 
Grogniet and his French fiibustiers. 

twenty-six 




1 rom Hat pel s lilagasine, Jan., 1859. 

SURVEYING FOR THE PANAMA RAILROAD. 



THB ISTHMUS 

In many places in Chiriqui are found the old Indian graves, 
or guacas, which contain beautiful pottery and golden orna- 
ments. The principal guacales are near Bugaba and Bugabita, 
about fifteen miles west of David. Southwest of the latter 
place is Alanje, in early times the capital of Chiriqui. It is 
on the Rio Chico, and the town is better known locally as 
Pueblo Rio Chico. On the authority of Ulloa, the name Alanje 
is a contraction of Santiago al Angel, a town founded by Benito 
Hurtado in 152 1. At one time it was called Chiriqui, and was 
the last settlement towards the confines of Nicaragua. 

Most maps give Punta Burica as the beginning of the bound- 
ary between Panama and Costa Rica. The old line between 
Colombia and Costa Rica, as determined by the President of 
France, September 11, 1900, was unsatisfactory. The new 
Republic of Panama, and Costa Rica, on March 6, 1905, came 
to an agreement on a new line, which gives Panama title to a 
large strip of land bordering on Golfo Dulce, while Costa Rica 
acquires a corresponding addition to her territory on the 
Atlantic side. 

January 25, 1907, both governments ratified this treaty, and 
the boundary between them now runs as follows:'" 

Beginning in the Rio Golfito, in the Gulf of Dulce, the line 
passes along the divide between the rivers Chiriqui Viejo and 
Coto de Terr aba, over the summit of the Santa Clara Mount- 
ains, through a point called "Cerro Pando" to the Rio Sixola, 
and thence to Punta Mona on the Caribbean. This is the point 
from which we started on our circuit of the Isthmus." 



™ This year, 1910, the boundary line between Panama and Costa Rica 
still remains in dispute. (See Note 8, Chapter 17.) 

" "What is to be the future status of the Isthmus ? A strong govern- 
ment is doubtless a necessity, and must be provided from abroad. Shall 
it assume the form of a quasi-independent state, under the protectorate 
of the chief commercial nations, eliminating Colombia from participa- 
tion therein, or must the United States, as the power most interested in 
preserving the independence of the highway, take upon themselves the 
whole control for the benefit of all nations ? Time will tell." — "History 
of Central America," vol. 3, p. 558 — H. H. Bancroft, 1887. 

Of the Chagres river, Ulloa writes, in 1735 : 

"Efte Rio, cuyo proprio nombre es de Lagartos, aunque ahora cono- 
cida mas bien por el de Chagre, tiene fu origen en aquellas Cordilleras, 
no lexos de Cruces. Fue defcubierta el ano de 1510. por Lope de 
Olano fu defembocadura en el Mar del Norte, que es a los 9. Grados, 
18. Minutos, 40 Segundos de Latitud Septentrional, y 295. Grados^ 
6 Minutos de Longitud contada defde el Meridiano de Tenerife. Por 
la parte de Cruces lo defcubrio Diego de Alvitez; pero el primer 
Bfpanol, que baxo navegando, para reconocerlo hafta fu Boca, fue 
el Capitan Hernando de la Serna el aiio de 1527. Efta defendida fu 

twenty-seven 



OLD PANAMA 

Entrada con una Fortaleza fabricada en la Cofta del Efte, fobre un 
Penafco efcarpado a la Mar, con el nombre de San Lorenzo de Chagres: 
goviernala un Caftellano, a quien acompana un Teniente, nombrados 
por el Rey, y la guarnecen Soldados de Tropa Reglada, que fe deftacan 
de Panama." — tamo i, lib. Ill, cap. i, pag. 146. 



twenty-eight 



CHAPTER II. 



COLUMBUS AND HIS DREAM. 




"A time shall come, tho' it be late. 
When the proud ocean shall abate 
Of its vast empire; men descry 
New isles, new countries where they lie ; 
Nor shall bleak Thule longer stand 
To us the last discovered land." 

Prophecy in the Medea of Seneca. 

'HRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, as the world 
knows him, Cristobal Colon, as he called him- 
self in Spanish, or Cristoforo Colombo, as he 
was baptized, was the eldest son of Domenico 
Colombo and of Susanna Fontanarossa, his 
wife. His brothers were Bartolome, Giovan 
(John) Pellegrino, and Giacomo (James), 
written Diego in Spanish. Giovan Pellegrino 
died in early manhood; but Bartolome and 
Diego followed the fortunes of their elder 
brother in the New World he discovered, 
Columbus had one sister, named Bianchinetta, who became 
the wife of Giacomo Bavarello, a cheesemonger. Doubtless 
her life was placid and happy, as it excited no human interest. 
Columbus was an Italian, being born in the ancient city of 
Genoa, some time between the years 1430 and 1456, say about 
1446. His father's house in Genoa, in which Christopher was 
born, has been identified ; and in the Piazza Acquaverde, in 
front of the railway station, stands an imposing statue to 
his memory. 

Possibly of illustrious ancestry and connection, his imme- 
diate family were humble wool-combers and weavers. The 
boy Cristoforo helped his father in his trade, and attended a 
school established by the wool-combers for the education of 
their children. It is claimed that Columbus studied for a time 
at Pavia; and that famous Lombard university has erected a 
monument to commemorate the glory of having had him as a 
student. While at school he learned the common branches, 
and some Latin, geography, geometry, and astronomy. 

twenty-mne 



COLUMB US AND 

His schooling could not have been extensive, as when but 
fourteen years of age, so he tells us, he went to sea, for which 
he had a natural inclination; and followed a maritime career, 
on and off, for the remainder of his life. 

At. this time Columbus was a red-haired, freckled- faced boy, 
large for his age, and full of energy. 

For a number of years he probably followed the usual life 
of a sailor about the Mediterranean, rising rapidly, no doubt, 
to positions of command. 

Columbus must be rated as a self-made man ; or, more cor- 
rectly, a genius. He was a great reader and student of history, 
cosmography, mathematics, and astronomy. In navigation and 
seamanship he stood without a peer. He was a fine penman, 
and, at times, obtained a livelihood as a cartographer. 

Previous to the entry of Columbus into Spain, about 1485, 
but little is known of him. Many recorded incidents in his life 
are of questionable historical accuracy. Fernando Columbus, 
raised among courtiers, and sensitive of the lowly origin of his 
father, would have it appear that Columbus was related to the 
famous admirals or corsairs, the Colombos of Italy, or the 
Coulons (Casanove) of France. 

Columbus served under Rene of Anjou in his sea-fights 
against Naples. Colombo el Meso, said to be a nephew of 
Columbus, commanded the squadron, and was such a terrible 
corsair that Moorish mothers hushed their unruly children with 
the mere mention of his name. In an encounter with four 
Venetian galleys off the coast of Portugal, the ship commanded 
by Columbus caught fire, and he saved himself only by swim- 
ming two leagues to land, with the aid of an oar. 

This latter event, which did not occur until 1485, is often 
given as the manner in which he arrived in Portugal. But we 
know that Columbus came to Lisbon in 1470, to avail himself, 
according to Bernaldez, of the new facts concerning the west 
coast of Africa, brought to light by the Portuguese, then the 
foremost in maritime discovery. His brother Bartholomew 
was there with him, and together they made and sold charts, 
maps, nautical instruments, and books. 

The world at this time, as known to Europeans, was still 
defined by the geography of Ptolemy and of Marinus of Tyre. 
The continent of America and the great Pacific Ocean were 
unheard of. What was not Europe or Africa was Asia, of 
course. It was supposed that Africa was joined to Asia on 
the south, and enclosed the Atlantic Ocean, which was depicted 
on the maps as extending to the eastern shores of Asia. The 

thiriy 



HIS DRBAM 

Mediterranean was well known, and voyages were made along 
the shores of Europe ; but the hardy mariners hugged the coast 
and dreaded to lose sight of land. A few degrees out the 
Strait of Gibraltar marked the limit of the world to the west. 
To venture far from land was to face the dangers of the 
unknown, peopled with the demons of ignorance. 

There were vague stories afloat that, beyond the Pillars of 
Hercules, somewhere out in the great Sea of Darkness, as the 
Atlantic was still called, were the large island of Atlantis, as 
told to Plato by an Egyptian priest; Antillia, or the island of 
the Seven Cities, founded by the Seven Bishops driven out 
of Spain and Portugal by the Moors ; and the mirage island of 
St. Brandon, said to have been visited in the sixth century by 
St. Brandan, a monk from Ireland. An Englishman named 
Macham, "who, sailing out of England into Spaine, with a 
woman that he had stolen," was driven out of his course, and 
came, it is said, in 1344, upon the island of Madeira. The 
Isles of the Blest, or Fortunate Islands, probably meant the 
Canaries. There is little doubt but that Dante's description of 
the mount of repentance, "Purgatorio," is the Pico di Teneriffa, 
so far from the center of Tuscany that it was quite easy to 
place it at the antipodes of the center of the earth from 
Jerusalem. 

A few years before the advent of Columbus, Prince Henry 
of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator, and who lived from 
1394 to 1460, became convinced, from what he learned from 
the Moors while in Africa, that great discoveries could be made 
down the African coast; and from study of the works of the 
Ancients he came to the belief that Africa was circumnavigable ; 
and that the produce of India and of the Spice Islands, now 
coming by caravan, and through the Persian gulf and Red Sea, 
could be reached and brought to Europe by way of the Sea 
of Darkness. 

According to traditions, Hesperus, a King of Spain, had 
discovered as far as Cape Verde as early as 650 years after 
the Flood. Phenician sailors sent out by Necho, King of 
Egypt, and Hanno, the Carthaginian, had sailed from the 
Mediterranean around Africa to Arabia; and Eudoxus of 
Cyzicus had circumnavigated in the other direction from the 
Red Sea to the Pillars of Hercules. It was even related by 
Strabo that Menelaus, spouse of the fair Helen, had sailed 
around Africa, after the fall of Troy. 

Prince Henry, who was half English by his mother Philippa, 
daughter of John of Gaunt, deliberately planned to discover 

thirty-one 



COLUMBUS AND 

new lands for Portugal, with the hope of ultimately rounding 
the southern extremity of Africa, and reaching China and 
India by sea. For this purpose this enlightened prince estab- 
lished a school for the study of navigation and astronomy, in 
1418, at Sagres, near Cape St. Vincent, the extreme south- 
western point of Europe. 

The farthermost place down the African coast then known 
was Cape Nam (or Not) ; and it was a grim joke among 
Mediterranean seamen that "He who sails to Cape Nam will 
either return or not." The Prince ordered two of his young 
gentlemen, Varco and Texeira, to sail down the Barbary coast 
and see what they could find. They bravely passed Cape Nam ; 
but sixty leagues beyond, where the Jebel-khal, or Black 
Mountain, juts out from the great Desert of Sahara, they 
encountered a bold promontory, which they called Bojador. 
Its aspect was so forbidding, and the sea so turbulent, that 
they were frightened back; and for a number of years Bojador, 
meaning the "Outstretcher," defied further exploration to the 
south. 

When Gil Eannes, in 1433, rounded the Bojador and lived 
to return, his efforts were likened to the labors of Hercules. 
Subsequent ventures discovered Rio de Oro, La Mina, the 
mouth of the Senegal, Sierra Leone, and the Guinea coast 
about the equator. The discovery of Porto Santo and the 
Azores, and the rediscovery of Madeira, followed. 

In 1445 one of the Prince's vessels reached Cape Verde ; and 
five years later the Cape Verde Islands, 320 miles west of the 
Cape, were brought to light. 

Such was the knowledge of geography and the stage of 
discovery about the year 1470, when Columbus arrived at 
Lisbon. No better environment could have been found for 
completing and perfecting the education of the navigator des- 
tined to discover the New World. 

Columbus at this time was in the full maturity of his 
manhood. He is described by his son Fernando as follows: 
"The Admiral was a well-made man, of a height above the 
medium, with a long face, and cheek-bones somewhat promi- 
nent; neither too fat nor too lean. He had an aquiline nose, 
light-colored eyes, and a ruddy complexion. In youth he had 
been fair, and his hair was of a light color, but after he was 
thirty years old it turned white. In eating and drinking he 
was an example of sobriety, as well as simple and modest 
about his person." Columbus had a grave and dignified bear- 
ing, and took himself and the world seriously on all occasions. 

thirty-two 



HIS DRUAM 



His accepted portrait is as sad and severe as that of Dante, and 
reminds one of some faces we see among the American Indians. 
He commanded admiration and respect from his men, but 
never love nor enthusiasm. 

In Lisbon, Columbus attended mass at the Church of the 
Convent of All Saints, where he first saw and met Doiia Felipa 
Monis niece of Isabel Moiiis de Perestrello, whom he soon 
married. Columbus lived with his wife's aunt, who was 
the widow of Bartolommeo Perestrello, a distinguished Italian 
navigator, who died in 1457, and who had found the islet of 
Porto banto for Prince Henry, and over which he was 
appointed governor. She told Columbus of her husband's 
voyages, and showed his charts and papers. Soon after their 
marriage, Columbus moved to Porto Santo with his wife, who 
owned a share in the island. While here their son Diego the 
heir of Columbus, was born, about 1470. 

It was not long before they returned to Portugal, where 
Columbus continued to make maps and charts. According to 
the records, he visited his father in Genoa, in 1472, and again 
in 1473 » rendering him monetary assistance. 

Columbus made occasional voyages, at one time going as far 
south as Guinea, and again, in 1477, sailing to 100 leagues west 
of Ihule, supposed to be Iceland, or possibly the Faroes, where 
he met English merchants from Bristol. 

.l^'tl ^^^^ Columbus conceived the notion of reaching India 
and the Spice Islands by sailing to the west, it is impossible to 
state. As he extended his voyages and heard of lands farther 
west he probably thought that a little more sailing would bring 
him to the islands lying off the shores of Asia, described in 
such glowing terms by Marco Polo in the thirteenth century, 
and by Sir John Mandeville. He calculated that the Island of 
Cipango lay near where Cuba and Haiti were afterwards dis- 
covered and that Mangi (the mainland) was about where he 
found the Isthmus of Panama. 

Long study of the ancient cosmographers and philosophers 
confirmed him in this belief. Aristotle, Seneca, Strabo Plfnv 
Solinus, and other writers held that the Atlantic extended to 
the eastern shores of Asia. Pedro de Aliaco (Cardinal Pierre 
dAilly), and Juhus Capitolinus stated that India could be 
reached m a few days' sail from Spain. 

Ptolemy divided the circumference of the globe into twenty- 
four hours of 15 degrees each, making 360 degrees in all. The 
map of Marmus of Tyre showed fifteen hours as known to the 
ancients. The city of Thinae, in Asia, the eastern limit of the 



thirty-three 



COLUMB US AND 

world given by Marinus, had been much extended by the travels 
of Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville, Rabbi Benjamin ben 
Jonah of Ludela, and certain wandering friars. 

Discovery of the Azores, and Cape de Verd Islands by the 
Portuguese, added another hour, or 15 degrees, on the west; 
so only eight hours, 120 degrees, or one-third the circumference 
of the earth, remained to be discovered. 

Moreover, both Ptolemy and Marinus, supported by Alfer- 
gany, the celebrated Arabian astronomer, held the circumfer- 
ence of the earth to be much less than the other cosmographers 
made it; a view in which Columbus concurred. This opinion 
found religious support in the Book of Esdras, which affirmed 
that six-sevenths of the earth was land ; so the sea between the 
western shores of Europe and the eastern coast of Asia could 
not be so extensive, after all. 

Pedro Correa, who had married the sister of Dofia Felipa, 
told Columbus of picking up pieces of strangely carved wood 
on Porto Santo, after a period of westerly winds. Trunks of 
unknown trees and giant reeds were found on the shores of the 
Azores and other islands, or encountered far out at sea. 

There is no evidence that Columbus, while on his voyage to 
the north, learned anything about the discovery of America by 
the Norsemen, about the end of the tenth century; much less 
had he ever heard of the nebulous report of the voyage of 
Madoc, the Welshman. 

After the death of Columbus, a baseless story was started 
saying that he had obtained information of the islands he later 
discovered from a Spanish sea captain named Sanchez, who, 
driven far out of his course, had lived to return, but only to 
die in the house of Columbus, at Terceira, one of the 
Azores. Before breathing his last, it was said, he told Colum- 
bus of the new lands in the west, and gave him his log-book 
and charts. 

Belief in the sphericity of the earth, and in the possibility of 
sailing round it, did not originate with Columbus, but had been 
expressed by wise men from Plato, Aristotle, and Hipparchus 
to Roger Bacon. Columbus was the first man to make the 
venture, and prove the truth of their reasoning and deduction. 

It detracts nothing from the honor and credit due Columbus 
to believe that had he not made the discovery, someone else 
would have found America in a very short time. "The man 
who becomes the conspicuous developer of any great world- 
movement is usually the embodiment of the ripened aspirations 
of his time." 

thirty-four 



' HIS DRBAM 

The whole tendency of the times was towards new and 
further ventures into the Atlantic; and events in the life of 
Columbus seemed to be preparing him for the undertaking of 
greater feats than had yet been accomplished. To unusual skill 
and experience as a mariner, he added an exceptional knowledge 
of geography, astronomy, and cartography. Stories of new 
discoveries excited his enthusiasm and strengthened his belief, 
until he developed religious fervor and delusions ; so that in 
later years he came to believe that he acted in obedience to 
Divine commands, and had been selected by Deity to chart the 
way to India by the west; to carry the Gospel to millions of 
benighted heathen ; and with the rich spoils of the East to raise 
and equip an army with which to rescue the Holy Sepulchre 
from the infidel Turk. 

The economic necessities of the western world required a 
westward thrust. The conquest of Constantinople by the 
Osmanli Turks, in 1453, carried with it the mastery of the 
overland trade routes from Asia. The sea-power of the inland 
Mediterranean cities fell as their power to exploit their former 
subjects had ceased. The pressure of population for new 
lands, checked by the closing of the East, pushed westwards, 
so that those states where the Crown had centralized power 
were in the pathway of utilizing the popular demand for newer 
lands and peoples. 

As contributory aids to the discovery of America at this time 
were the improved use of the mariner's compass, and the recent 
introduction by John II. of the astrolabe, the forerunner of the 
quadrant, with which navigators could tell their distance from 
the equator ; as well as the general revival of learning, fostered 
by the introduction of printing presses. 

As early as 1474, Columbus wrote to Dr. Paulo Toscanelli, a 
famous physician and astronomer of Florence, known to be an 
authority on cosmography, who sent Columbus a chart of the 
Atlantic, or Western ocean, and the eastern coasts of India, 
together with the copy of a letter recently written to the 
ecclesiastic Martinez on the same subject for the information 
of Affonso V. The learned doctor's reply is so interesting that 
it is given in full at end of chapter. 

It was this chart of Toscanelli, substantiated by his well- 
thumbed copy of the Imago Mundi by Cardinal D'Ailly (called 
by Irving the Vade Mecum of Columbus), that formed the 
sailing directions of Columbus in his discovery of the Western 
hemisphere. 



thirty-five 



COLUMBUS AND 

The map of Martin Behaim, which depicts the geography of 
that day, was issued from Niirnberg just after Columbus 
sailed. It will be observed that both maps estimate fairly well 
the width of the Atlantic, and roughly outline the islands and 
eastern coast of Asia; but express not the vaguest suspicion 
of the continent of America and the great Pacific Ocean (say 
two-fifths of the circumference of the earth) intervening 
between the Atlantic Ocean and Asia. 

It is almost inconceivable that Europeans, up to Columbus 
and Balboa, knew but one ocean, and remained in total igno- 
rance of another hemisphere. Had the actual distance between 
Spain and Cipango and Cathay (Japan and China), 12,000 
miles, been known, and supposing no land in between, neither 
Columbus nor anyone else would have dreamed of sailing there ; 
nor could the vessels and crews have lived through such a long 
voyage. As it was, some figured the distance to be 4000 miles ; 
while many, including Columbus, believed it to be much less. 

The profound religious nature of Columbus found in Holy 
Writ confirmation of his faith in a western route to India, and 
he became convinced that his discovery was foretold by the 
prophets, and that he was to be the agent in the hands of God 
for accomplishing the Great Discovery. 

Columbus thought it was first necessary to receive the 
approval and financial support of some government or prince 
to carry out his great undertaking. 

Tradition says he first offered his discovery to his native 
State of Genoa ; but either she was too poor, or Columbus too 
obscure, for Genoa to consider the proposition. Probably he 
carried his scheme to the Republic of Venice; and with like 
result. 

We do know, however, that Columbus applied to John II. 
of Portugal, who had come to the throne in 1481, and was 
refused, largely owing to the counsel of his confessor, Ortez 
de Calzadilla. By the advice of that bishop. King John got 
possession of the charts of Columbus and secretly sent out a 
caravel to test his theory ; and it is a pleasure to read that the 
sailors soon became frightened and hastened back to Portugal, 
claiming that one might as well expect to find land in the sky 
as out in the great ocean. 

Hurt and ofifended at such mean treatment, Columbus 
departed from Lisbon in 1484, taking his boy Diego with him. 
Dofia Felipa and the other children were left behind; all of 
whom probably died within a short time, as they disappear 
from history. 

thirty-six 



HIS DRBAM 

In 1485 Columbus visited his father, his only surviving 
parent, and made provision for his welfare and the education 
of his younger brother, Diego. 

It is said that he again applied, this time in person, to the 
republics of Genoa and of Venice to carry out his plan. Fail- 
ing to receive any encouragement from these sources, Columbus 
decided to try his fortune in Spain ; "nor is it one of the least 
interesting circumstances in his eventful life that he had, in a 
manner, to beg his way from court to court, to offer to princes 
the discovery of a world." — (Irving.) 

About the end of the year 1485, Columbus entered Spain, 
placed young Diego with his aunt Muliar, at Huelva, and set 
out for the Spanish Court. For seven long years this vain- 
glorious dreamer followed their Highnesses from place to place, 
importuning everyone in authority to give him assistance. No 
doubt he made himself a nuisance to most everybody, and was 
considered what we now call a crank. 

Through the influence of Alonso de Quintanilla, controller 
of the treasury of Castile; Alessandro~'Geraldini, the papal 
nuncio; and the great Cardinal Mendoza, called by Peter 
Martyr "the third King of Spain," Columbus was enabled, in 
i486, to appear before the Court at Cordova; and later was 
received by Ferdinand at Salamanca. The united kingdoms of 
Ferdinand and Isabella were expending their utmost endeavors 
to drive the Moors from Spain, and had but little time or 
money to devote to such a visionary enterprise. Nevertheless, 
Talavera, confessor to the Queen, was directed to assemble a 
council of learned men to consider the subject. They met in 
the Convent of St. Stephen, at Salamanca, and gave Columbus 
a hearing. This junta was composed principally of churchmen, 
and soon found the project contrary to Scripture and the 
teaching of the Fathers. 

Concerning the sphericity of the earth and the existence of 
Antipodes, St. Augustine had written : "It is contrary to the 
Scriptures, for they teach that all men are descended from 
Adam, which would be impossible if men lived on the other side 
of the earth, for they could never have crossed the wide sea." 
Likewise Lactantius, who had said : "Is there anyone so foolish 
as to believe that there are Antipodes, with their feet opposite 
to ours; people who walk with their heels upwards and their 
heads hanging down — where everything is topsy-turvey ; where 
the trees_ grow with their branches downwards, and where it 
rains, hails, and snows upwards ?" 



thirty-seven 



COLUMB US AND 

Accordingly, the junta reported the project "vain and impos- 
sible, and that it did not belong to the majesty of such great 
princes to determine anything upon such weak grounds of infor- 
mation." Indeed, Columbus was considered fortunate in 
escaping Torquemada and the Inquisition for daring to enter- 
tain such heretical opinions. A small minority of the junta, 
among whom was Diego Deza, preceptor to the Infanta, were 
friendly to Columbus. He remained about the Court and 
continued his solicitations. 

Columbus received appropriations from the royal treasury, 
was entertained by Quintanilla and other eminent persons, and 
was not in such dire want and misery as often described. His 
condition was not so mean but that he could successfully prose- 
cute a suit in another court. Rejected by the Court of Spain, 
Columbus was yet a victor in the Court of Love. While wait- 
ing at Cordova, he won the favor of Beatrix Enriquez, a noble 
lady in reduced circumstances. She was the mother of his 
second son, Fernando, born in 1488, whom he always con- 
sidered equally with his legitimate son, Diego ; and who, after 
the death of Columbus^ became his biographer. 

In i486 Bartolomeu Dias reached Cape Bona Speranza, 
which opened up the probability of reaching India by sailing 
to the east. This epoch in navigation not only stimulated the 
endeavors of Columbus to reach India by the west, but inclined 
the Spanish Court, jealous of the many discoveries made by 
Portugal, to listen more favorably to Columbus, and finally to 
accede to his high-flown demands. 

Bartolome Colon, who was with Dias when he found the 
Cape of Good Hope, returned with him to Portugal, in Decem- 
ber, 1487. Late the next year Columbus availed himself of 
the invitation of King John to return to his kingdom, and went 
to consult with his brother at Lisbon. It was probably at this 
time that Bartholomew was dispatched to England to enlist 
the support of Henry VII. 

In 1489 Columbus is back in Spain prosecuting his appeal to 
their Highnesses. He entered actively in the war against the 
Moors, and was present at the siege of Beza, where, says 
Zuiiiga, he ''took a glorious part, giving proof of the great 
valor which accompanied his wisdom and profound concep- 
tions." 

Almost discouraged, Columbus sought aid from the powerful 
dukes, Medina-Sidonia, and Medina-Celi. The latter was 



thirty-eight 



HIS DRBAM 

friendly to Columbus, took care of him at his castle, and 
brought the matter again before Isabella. 

In 1490 the junta of wise men reported finally that the propo- 
sition of Columbus was simply impossible. 

In 1 49 1, completely disheartened, Columbus decides to leave 
Spain and peddle his notions at some other court. He goes to 
Huelva, gets Diego, and they set out on foot for the little neigh- 
boring seaport of Palos. When they arrive at the Franciscan 
Monastery of Santa Maria de la Rabida, standing then, as 
now, on the hill by the shore, a couple of miles from Palos, 
Columbus asks the brother porter for a little bread and water 
for the tired boy Diego. Former writers give this touching 
incident as taking place on the entry of Columbus into Spain^ 
five or six years anterior to this time. 

Juan Perez de Marchena, the worthy prior of the covenant, 
happened to notice Columbus, and, observing that he was na 
ordinary wayfarer, entered into conversation with him. Surely 
some good angel must have led Columbus to La Rabida, for he 
had at last found someone who would listen to him, and he told 
the good father of all his hopes, his weary waitings, and his dis- 
appointments. Juan Perez was a learned man, and from the 
observatory on the roof of his convent had studied the heavenly 
bodies, and looked out over the western sea and conceived of 
other lands and people across the wide waters. 

Columbus is invited to remain at the monastery; and that 
very night Padre Juan sends for Dr. Fernandez Garcia, the 
village doctor, and other friends in Palos, among them Martin 
Alonzo Pinzon, the leading navigator and ship-owner of the 
place. This was the most appreciative and sympathetic audi- 
ence Columbus ever had; and you can imagine the force and 
earnestness with which he argued his case. To the learned 
and erudite ecclesiastics of the cloister the plan of Columbus 
was visionary and impossible ; but to these men, familiar with 
the sea and recent discoveries, it appeared both reasonable and 
probable. 

As a result of this meeting Juan Perez, formerly confessor 
to the Queen, successfully interceded with Isabella that Colum- 
bus be given another hearing, stating, no doubt, the judgment 
of the sailor folk of Palos. With funds furnished by the 
Queen, said to have been 1180 dollars, Columbus buys himself 
a mule and a new suit of clothes, and starts back to Court. He 
found their Highnesses at the new city of Santa Fe, built 
before Granada, the last stronghold of the Moslems in Spain. 
January 2, 1492, Boahdil el Chico, the Moorish King, yielded 

thirty-nine 



COLUMBUS AND 

up the keys of the Alhambra; and the power of the Moors in 
Spain, enduring for 778 years, fell, never to rise again. 

The termination of the long-continued wars with the Moors 
gave the King and Queen time to examine into the plan of 
Columbus ; and they were about to grant his request, when the 
matter was again dropped on account of the preposterous 
rewards demanded by Columbus. He required that he be 
given the rank and title of Admiral ; to be Governor and Vice- 
roy over the regions discovered; to receive a tenth of the 
revenue thereof; and to enjoy the privileges of the aristocracy; 
all to be hereditary in his family. 

Fernando de Talavera, now elevated to the new Archbishopric 
of Granada, takes advantage of these exorbitant demands by 
a beggarly foreigner, and ridicules his case out of Court. In 
February, 1492, Columbus mounts his mule, again turns his 
back on the Spanish Court, and sets out across the Vega, or 
plain of Granada, intending to go to Cordova or La Rabida, 
and then apply to the Court of France. 

In the meantime, his friends, Alonzo de Quintanilla, the 
Marchioness de Moya, and particularly Luis de Santangel, 
Treasurer of Arragon, have so worked upon Isabella that she 
exclaims : "I undertake the enterprise for my own Crown of 
Castile, and will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary funds." 
Whether Isabella ever uttered this pretty phrase, and really 
proffered her jewels, is a mooted question with the historians, 
as it is claimed they were pledged already for the expenses of 
the late war. We do know, however, that Isabella was always 
friendly to Columbus, while Ferdinand was either lukewarm, 
calculating, or positively opposed to him. 

As a matter of fact, funds and equipment for the first voyage 
of Columbus were furnished by the treasury of Arragon, the 
town of Palos, and the Pinzon brothers. The money from 
Arragon, amounting to 17,000 florins, was charged to the King- 
dom of Castile, and was repaid out of the first gold brought 
from the New World, Ferdinand using it to gild the royal 
saloon at Saragossa. 

A royal messenger overtook Columbus, when but two leagues 
on his journey, at the old stone "Bridge of Pines" (Pifios 
Puente), still spanning a small stream in the Vega. When 
informed of the resolve of Isabella, he returns, somewhat 
reluctantly, to the city. 

Columbus is given the title of Don; and on April 17, 1492, 
at Santa Fe, Ferdinand and Isabella signed articles granting 
all his conditions, Columbus also receives a credential letter, 

forty 



HIS DRBAM 

signed in blank, accrediting him to the Court of the Grand 
Khan, Prester John, or any other potentate he may encounter. 
The letter is such a delicious bit of diplomatic affectation that 
I quote it entire: 

"Ferdinand and Isabella to King .... 

"The Spanish Sovereigns have heard that You and Your 
subjects have great affection for Them and for Spain. They 
are further aware that You and Your subjects are very desir- 
ous to hear news from Spain. They accordingly send their 
Admiral, Ch. Columbus, who will tell You that they are in 
good health and perfect prosperity. 

"Granada, April 30th, 1492." 

The port of Palos was selected as a place to fit out the expe- 
dition, not for the reason that it was the abode of friends of 
Columbus, but because that town was under sentence to furnish 
the Crown on demand the service of two armed caravels, for 
the space of twelve months. On May 23, 1492, the royal com- 
mand was read from the Church of St. George in Palos ; but 
neither vessels nor mariners appeared. Sailors were afraid to 
make the venture ; and many had to be pressed into service, and 
criminals taken from the jails. 

After considerable delay and difficulty, Columbus was able 
to assemble three vessels, and 120 men, for the voyage. Mar- 
tin Alonzo Pinzon and Vicente Yaiiez Pinzon, both well-to-do 
sea captains, saved the day by volunteering for the expedition 
and furnishing one of the vessels, the Niiia. Probably it was 
this contribution by the Pinzon brothers which constituted the 
eighth of the expenses supplied by Columbus, and enabled him 
to receive an eighth of the revenue, instead of one-tenth, as 
first agreed. The Pinta was seized from her owners, Rascon 
and Quintero, who went with the party. Palos provided the 
Gallego, which Columbus made his flagship and placed under 
the special protection of the Mother of God, and so renamed 
the Santa Maria. She was the largest of the three, and the 
only one completely decked. The Pinta and Nina were open 
caravels, being undecked in the waist, but having a cabin in 
the stern and forecastle in the bows. 

Before sailing, Columbus confessed himself to his good friend 
Fray Perez, and partook of the Holy Communion : an example 
which was followed by his officers and men in the presence of 
the awed and mourning town-people. 

Young Diego was taken from La Rabida and placed in charge 
of friends in Moguer, a few miles away, to be prepared to act 

forty-one 



COLUMBUS AND 

as page to the Infante, Prince Juan, to which office Isabella had 
graciously appointed him. 

Columbus then goes aboard his little fleet, and prepares to 
sail into the Sea of Darkness. 

Letter of Dr. Paulo Toscanelli to Christopher Columbus: 

"To Christopher Columbus, Paul the Physician wisheth health. 

I perceive your noble and earnest desire to sail to those parts where 
the spice is produced; and therefore, in answer to a letter of yours, I 
send you another letter, which some days since I wrote to a friend of 
mine, and servant to the King of Portugal, before the wars of Castile, 
in answer to another he writ to me by his Highnesses order, upon this 
same account, and I send you another sea chart like that I sent him, 
which will satisfy your demands. The copy of that letter is this: 

"'To Fernam Martins, Canon of Lisbon, Paul the Physician wishes 
health. 

I am very glad to hear of the familiarity you have with your most 
serene and magnificent King, and though I have very often discoursed 
concerning the short way there is from hence to the Indies, where the 
spice is produced, by sea, which I look upon to be shorter than you 
take by the coast of Guinea, yet you now tell me that his Highness 
would have me make out and demonstrate it so as it may be understood 
and put in practice. Therefore, tho' I could better show it him with a 
globe in my hand, and make him sensible of the figure of the world, 
yet I have resolved to render it more easy and intelligible to show 
this way upon a chart, such as are used in navigation, and therefore I 
send one to his Majesty, made and drawn with my own hand, wherein 
is set down the utmost bounds of the west from Iceland, in the north, 
to the furthest part of Guinea, with all the islands that lie in the way ; 
opposite to which western coast is described the beginning of the 
Indies, with the islands and places whither you may go, and how far 
you may bend from the north pole towards the equinoctial and for 
how long a time; that is, how many leagues you may sail before you 
come to those places most fruitful in all sorts of spice, jewels, and 
precious stones. Do not wonder if I term that country where the 
spice grows west, that product being generally ascribed to the east, 
because those who shall sail westward will always find those places 
in the west, and they that travel by land eastwards will ever find those 
places in the east. The straight lines that lie lengthways in the chart 
show the distance there is from west to east, the other cross them show 
the distance from north to south. I have also marked down in the 
said chart several places in India where ships might put in upon any 
storm or contrary winds or any other accident unforeseen. And, 
moreover, to give you full information of all those places which you 
are very desirous to know, you must understand that none but traders 
live or reside in all those islands, and that there is there as great a 
number of ships and seafaring people with merchandise as in any other 
part of the world, particularly in a most noble part called Zacton, where 
there are every year an hundred large ships of pepper loaded and 
unloaded, besides many other ships that take in other spice. This 
country is mighty populous, and there are many provinces and kingdoms 
and innumerable cities under the dominion of a prince called the Great 
Cham, which name signifies king of kings, who for the most part resides 
in the province of Cathay. His predecessors were very desirous to 

forty-two 



HIS DRHAM 

have commerce and be in amity with Christians, and 200 years since 
sent embassadors to the Pope desiring him to send them many learned 
men and doctors to teach them our faith; but by reason of some 
obstacles the embassadors met with they returned back without coming 
to Rome. Besides, there came an embassador to Pope Engenius IV, 
who told him the great friendship there was between those princes, 
their people, and Christians. I discoursed with him a long while upon 
the several matters of the grandeur of their royal structures and of 
the greatness, length, and breadth of their rivers, and he told me many 
wonderful thmgs of the multitude of towns and cities founded along 
the banks of the rivers, and that there were 200 cities upon one only 
nver with marble bridges over it of a great length and breadth, and 
adorned with abundance of pillars. This country deserves, as well as 
any other, to be discovered; and there may not only be great profit 
made there, and many things of value found, but also gold, silver, all 
sorts of precious stones, and spices in abundance, which are not 
brought into our ports. And it is certain that many wise men, philos- 
ophers, astrologers, and other persons skilled in all arts and very 
mgenious, govern that mighty province and command their armies. 
i<rom Lisbon, directly westward, there are in the chart 26 spaces each 
of which contains 250 miles, to the most noble and vast city of Quisay 
which is 100 miles in compass— that is, 35 leagues; in it there are 
ID marble bridges. The name signifies a heavenly city, of which 
wonderful things are reported, as to the ingenuity of the people the 
buildings and revenues. This space above mentioned is almost a third 
?if^.* r *r. r^'^^- , ^^'^ ^^*y '^ ^" *^^ province of Mango, bordering on 
that of Cathay, where the King for the most part resides. From the 
Island Antilia which you call the Seven Cities, and whereof you have 
sonie knowledge, to the most noble island of Cipango, are 10 spaces 
which make 2,500 miles, or 225 leagues, which island abounds in gold 
pearls, and precious stones; and you must understand they cover their 
temples and palaces with plates of pure gold. So that, for want of 
knowing the way, all these things are hidden and concealed, and yet 
may be gone to with safety. Much more might be said, but having told 
you what is most material, and you being wise and judicious, I am 
satisfied there is nothing of it but what you understand, and therefore 
1 will not be more prolix. Thus much may serve to satisfy your curi- 
osity,_ It being as much as the shortness of time and my business would 
perniit me to say. So I remain most ready to satisfy and serve his 
Highness to the utmost in all the commands he shall lay upon me ' 
Done at Florence, June 2Sth, 1474." 



forty -three 



CHAPTER III. 



FIRST VOYAGE 
OF 

COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

1492 
Discovery of the Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti 

" Ere we Gomera cleared, a coward cried, 
Turn, turn; here he three caravels ahead, 
From Portugal, to take tw: we are dead. 
Hold Westward, pilot, calmly I replied. 
So when the last land down the horizon died, 
Qo back, go back! they prayed: our hearts are lead. 
Friends, we are bound into the West, I said. 
Then passed the wreck of a mast upon our side. 
See (so they wept) God's Warning! Admiral, turn! 
Steersman, I said, hold straight into the West. 
Then down the night we saw the meteor burn. 
So do the very heavens in fire protest : 
Good Admiral, put about! O Spain, dear Spain! 
Hold straight into the West, I said again. 
Next drive we o'er the slimy-weeded sea. 
Lo! herebeneath (another coward cries) 
The cursed land of sunk Atlantis lies! 
This slime will suck us down — turn while thou'rt free ; 
But no! 1 said, Freedom bears West for «ie.'"— Sydney Lanier. 

iRIDAY, the 3d day of August, 1492, amid the 
tears and prayers of the populace, Columbus 
set sail from Palos, and the memorable voyage 
had begun. The Admiral took immediate 
charge of his flagship, the Santa Maria, while 
Martin Alonso Pinzon commanded the Pinta, 
and his brother, Vicente Yanez Pinzon, was 
captain of the Nina. 

The three small vessels, the largest not over 
seventy-five feet in length, dropped down the 
Rio Tinto and the Odiel, and anchored for the 
night. The next morning they passed out to sea and steered 
for the Canaries, which they reached August 9th. Here the 
Pinta was supplied with a new rudder, the old one having 
been disabled intentionally by the impressed seamen; and the 
lateen sails of the Nina were changed to square rig. At the 
Great Canary, smoke and flame issuing from the peak of 
Teneriffe increased the alarm of the crews. Fresh water, fresh 
meat, and wood were taken in at Gomera. 

On September 6th Columbus made his final start; in a few 
days passed by Ferro, the last known outpost of land, and 




forty-five 



FIRST VOYAGE OF 

headed due west into the Sea of Darkness, saiHng about on the 
28th parallel of north latitude. 

At this time the great ocean was believed to be inhabited by 
curious and frightful monsters, such as we see pictured on the 
old charts. Even the air was supposed to be peopled with 
gigantic birds, like the "roc," which could pick up a ship and 
bear it away in its talons, to dine upon the mariners at leisure. 
As the ships sail farther and farther into the Unknown, the 
sailors are alternately depressed or cheered by a commotion of 
the sea, or balmy breezes, a shower of falling stars, or shoals 
of fishes, a piece of wreckage, or the flight of birds. 

Columbus made several discoveries before he discovered 
land. When about 200 leagues from the Canaries he noticed 
the variation of the needle from east of the pole star to the 
westward. He was also the first to traverse that weedy sea 
which his men named Sargasso, and the first European to note 
the trade winds of the tropics. 

When about a month from the Canaries, the pilots reckoned 
they had come 580 leagues, whereas the true but secret log kept 
by Columbus showed over 700 leagues. On Sunday, the 7th 
of October, Columbus was induced by the Pinzons, and the 
flight of birds to the southward, to change his course to the 
southwest; but resumed a more westerly direction after a few 
days. Had he not made this deviation his ships would have 
sailed north of the Bahamas, and reached the coast of Florida 
near the Indian river, and Columbus would have discovered the 
mainland of America on his first voyage, in 1492, instead of on 
his third and fourth voyages, in 1498 and 1502, respectively. 
As is well known, Columbus made four voyages to America. 

Every now and then a cloud-bank on the horizon, simulating 
an island, would give rise to a false cry of "Land." The frail 
caravels showed the effects of the long voyage ; provisions were 
running low, and the sailors became more frightened and home- 
sick from day to day. Wednesday, the loth of October, their 
superstitious terrors break out into a general clamor to put 
about the ships and return to Spain. It was getting warmer 
all the time, and they appeared to be approaching the equatorial 
regions of the earth, where it was thought life could not exist 
on account of the great heat, and even the ocean boiled beneath 
the vertical rays of the sun. If the world were flat, as was the 
general belief, then it must have limits, and there was danger 
of getting too near the edge and gliding over into some bottom- 
less abyss. If it were round, as Columbus aflirmed, it would be 
impossible to sail back up the mountain of water to Spain, 
especially as the wind blew constantly from that direction. 

forty-six 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

For answer, Columbus tries to make them understand the 
sphericity of the earth, points out the increasing signs of prox- 
imity to land, and paints the grandeur and wealth of the East 
in the language of Marco Polo, embellished by his own vivid 
imagination. He offers a velvet doublet as an additional 
reward to him who first announces land, and orders the unruly 
men to their duties. 

About lo o'clock the next night, October nth, the Admiral, 
from the top of his lofty cabin, fancied he saw a light moving 
in the distance, and called Pedro Gutierrez, a gentleman of the 
King's bedchamber, who also thought he saw it. Rodrigo 
Sanchez is then called, and he, too, believed he saw a light. 

The White Man's history on the Western hemisphere began y^ 
at 2 a. m. on the morning of Friday, October 12, 1492, when 
Rodrigo de Triana, of Lepe, a sailor on the Pinta, gave the cry 
of "Land!" This time the alarm was true, as a low, dark 
mass on the horizon was plainly visible in the moonlight about 
two leagues away. The Pinta, which was in the lead, as usual, 
fired a gun, the signal of discovery of land, and the little fleet 
hove to and unpatiently awaited the morn. Martin Alonzo 
Pinzon and his men sing the "Gloria in Excelsis/' and the other 
crews join in the thanksgiving. 

The annual pension of 10,000 maravedis (only about 61 dol- 
lars), promised by the Crown to the person first sighting land, 
was later awarded to Columbus, because he saw the light a few 
hours before Rodrigo announced the discovery of land. 
Whether the moving light was on shore or in a canoe was not 
ascertained. The acceptance of this reward by Columbus was 
a tactless and ungenerous act, highly characteristic of the man. 
We are glad to read that Rodrigo escaped the fate of his com- 
rades who remained at Navidad, and returned in safety to 
Spain. They say that he felt so much wronged in not receiving 
the reward that he forsook his country and religion, crossed 
over into Africa, and turned Mussulman. 

What do you suppose these Christian white men, represent- 
ing the highest culture and civilization of Europe, did while 
waiting for day? In the Journal of Columbus we are told they 
spent the time in furbishing their arms. Every nationality of 
Europe which came to America, whether to seek their fortunes 
or a refuge from oppression, or with the avowed intention to 
propagate the Gospel, always furbished their arms before land- 
ing. In almost every instance the natives welcomed them as 
heavenly visitants, offering food and drink, gold and pearls, 
and such other commodities as the region afforded. It was not 

forty-seven 



FIRST VOYAGE OF 

long before their trust and innocence were abused, and the 
massacre of the Indians soon followed, as a matter of course. 

At daybreak on this memorable Friday, Columbus, who 
delighted in ceremony, made a landing in all the state he 
could muster. The principal personages were in armor, and 
carried swords ; the common sailors wore their best clothes and 
went armed. Each of the Pinzons bore a green cross flag, 
inscribed with the letters F and Y (standing for Fernando and 
Ysabel), and above each letter a golden crown. 

The Admiral attired himself in scarlet, and bore a sword in 
his right hand, and the royal standard in his left. When he 
stepped ashore he fell upon his knees, and then forward upon 
his face and kissed the earth. The whole company kneeled 
about him, while Columbus, with tears of joy streaming down 
his face, offered the following prayer: 

"Lord God, eternal and omnipotent, by Thy sacred Word the 
heavens, the earth, and the sea were created ; blessed and glorified 
be Thy name ; praised be Thy majesty, which is exalted through 
Thy humble servant, in that by him Thy sacred name may be 
made known and declared in this remote part of the earth." 

By royal command, this prayer was used by Balboa, Cortes, 
Pizarro, and other Spaniards when they made discoveries of 
new regions. 

Rising from his knees, Columbus planted the flag of Castile, 
and with drawn sword, and without consulting the wishes of 
the rightful owners, who were hovering near, took possession 
of the island in the name of their Catholic Majesties.^ 

The native name of the island was Guanahani, but Columbus 
called it San Salvador (Holy Saviour), thus inaugurating the 
regrettable renaming of American localities, which has con- 
tinued to the present time. 

A cross was erected, and the royal notary, Rodrigo de 
Escobedo, wrote down a full account of the proceedings. The 
officers and crews now swore allegiance to Columbus as Ad- 

^ "And here was the beginning of these four centuries of such rank 
injustice, such horrible atrocities inflicted by the hand of our much- 
boasted Christian civilization upon the natives of the New World, as 
well might make the Almighty blush for ever having created in his own 
image such monsters as their betrayers and butchers. It is the self- 
same story, old and new, from Espanola to Darien and Mexico, from 
Brazil to Labrador, and from Patagonia to Alaska, by sailor and 
cavalier, by priest and puritan, by gold-hunter and fur-hunter — the 
unenlightened red man welcoming with wonder his destroyer, upon 
whom he is soon forced to turn to save himself, his wife, his children ; 
but only at last to fall by the merciless arm of development beneath 
the pitiable destiny of man primeval." — H. H. Bancroft. 

forty-eight 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

miral and Viceroy of the new country. The craven souls, who 
a few days before had threatened mutiny, now knelt at his feet 
and kissed his hands, begging pardon for their offenses, and 
asking to be remembered when he distributed his favors. 

The timid natives cautiously gazed on these queer perform- 
ances by their visitors. They were filled with awe and wonder 
of these strange people, who had white skins, and hair on their 
faces, and wore so much bright and colored clothing; who 
carried such dangerous-looking weapons, and who had arrived 
m gigantic ships with immense wings. The very natural infer- 
ence was that the Spaniards were celestial beings who had flown 
down from the skies, and who must be honored and obeyed 
accordingly. This was the first impression created by the 
Spaniards everywhere they landed ; but it was never long before 
they showed themselves to be very human and very vulnerable. 

As the natives lost their fear, they gathered about the white 
men and tendered food and drink. 

Columbus was much disappointed in finding naked, brown- 
skinned natives, instead of the cultivated and opulent people of 
the East he had pictured. Nevertheless, believing he had 
found one of the numerous islands described by Marco Polo as 
lying in the sea of Chin (China), off the mainland of India, 
he called the natives "Indians," a misnomer by which they are 
still designated. 

While with the Portuguese along the coast of Africa, Colum- 
bus had learned the value of colored cloth, glass beads, and 
gew- gaws in dealing with savages. He distributed a lot of these 
trifles among the natives of Guanahani and completely won 
their hearts. The Indians were particularly charmed with the 
little tinkling hawk-bells which the Admiral gave them. In 
return, the natives freely offered tame parrots, balls of yarn 
made from cotton which grew on the island, fruits and fish, and 
cassava' bread, made from the tuberous roots of the yuca which 
they cultivated. The Indians also gave Columbus some dry 
leaves which they seemed to value very highly. 



Cazabi, cazabe, casabe, que de todas estas maneras se encuentra 
escnto, es una especie de pan que hacian los indios del magnoc, de la 
tucubia o yuca y de otras raices."— Note in Col. de Doc. Ined tomo iv 
p. 185. 

At another place in this same Coleccion we read that "pan cacabi, or 
cassava bread, was a bread of little sustenance made by the Indians 
from the root of the yuca, which was very abundant in Cuba, Jamaica 
Brasil, and other parts. Yuca yielded much profit to the Spaniards- 
the monthly ration of a man being one pack-load, weighiner fifty 
pounds. —Tomo x, p. 29. c= & j 



forty-nine 



FIRST VOYAGE OP 

The very first question addressed by Columbus to the people 
of the New World he discovered was concerning the where- 
abouts of gold. We read in the Journal of Columbus, as tran- 
scribed by Las Casas : 

"I examined these savages carefully, and wanted to know if 
they possessed any gold. I saw that some had a little piece of 
it run through a hole made in the nose ; and I succeeded, by 
signs, in learning that going around their island, and sailing to 
the south, I should find a country where the King had many 
golden vessels, and a great quantity of the metal. I imme- 
diately tried to induce them to guide me to that country, but 
quickly understood their refusal ; so I resolved to wait till the 
midday, and start, after dinner, in a southwest direction, where, 
according to the indications many of them gave me, there is 
land both to the south and to the northwest, and the inhabitants 
of the country situated in the latter direction often came to 
attack them, and they also go to the southwest in search of gold 
and precious stones." 

The territory of the Great Khan of Tartary must lie to the 
northwest, while to the southwest would be Cipango, rich in 
gold, as related by Marco Polo, and now confirmed by the 
natives of the very first land he had reached. 

The aboriginal people of the Bahamas,' the Lucayans, dis- 
covered by Columbus, were a tall, graceful, dark-skinned race 
of barbarians. They were gentle and loving, quite unlike their 
cousins on the mainland, or their fierce neighbors to the south, 
the Caribs, who dwelt in the Lesser Antilles. They possessed 
pottery and stone implements, like celts, arrow-heads, mortars 
and pestles, and were expert in the use of their canoas 
(canoes). Columbus well describes them: "All of them go 
as naked as they came into the world ; their forms are graceful ; 
their features good ; their hair, as coarse as a horse's tail, cut 
short in front and worn long upon their shoulders. They are 
dark of complexion, like the Canary Islanders, and paint them- 
selves in various colors. They do not carry arms, and have 
no knowledge of them, for when I showed them our swords 

* The Bahama Islands, or Lucayos, lie northeast of Cuba, from which 
they are separated by the old Bahama Channel, and extend from off 
the coast of Florida 700 miles in a southeasterly direction to near the 
shores of Haiti and San Domingo. The group is situated between 21° 
and 27° north latitude, and consists of 26 islands, 647 keys, and 2387 
reefs and cliffs, mostly flat and narrow. The Bahamas came into pos- 
session of Great Britain in 1629, and 25 of the islands are now inhabited, 
mainly by negroes. The capital of the group, and the seat of the 
English Governor, is the pretty little city of Nassau, on New Provi- 
dence, best known as a winter resort. 

fifty 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

they took them by the edges, and through their ignorance cut 
themselves. Neither have they any iron, their spears consist- 
ing of staffs tipped with stone and dog-fish teeth. * * * I 
swear to your Majesties, there are no better people on earth; 
they are gentle, without knowing what evil is ; neither killing 
nor stealing." 

Such were the timid, innocent aborigines of the Bahamas, 
living in Eden-like simplicity and happiness in their island 
homes. Twenty years later, when the Spaniards had extermi- 
nated nearly all the natives of Hispaniola, they stole away the 
Lucayans, to the number of 40,000, to slave in the mines and 
on the plantations of Hispaniola; and in about fifty years 
these people became extinct. 

On account of their extinction, and also owing to the fact 
that the Spaniards made no settlements in the Bahamas, the 
identification of the island which Columbus named San Salva- 
dor still remains in doubt. Eleuthera, Cat, Watling, Exuma, 
Long, Crooked, Samana, Acklin, Caicos, Turk, and other 
islands have claimed to be Guanahani, the first landfall of 
Columbus. When Washington Irving issued his famous "lyife 
and Voyages of Columbus," in 1827, he gave Cat Island, on 
the authority of a naval officer, as the original San Salvador. 
Captain G. V. Fox, United States Navy, favored Samana; 
while Captain A. B. Becher, Royal Navy, settled on Watling's 
Island, and most modern authorities have arrived at the same 
conclusion.* 

* Watling Island, one of the Bahama group, lies on the intersection 
of the 74th meridian and the 24th parallel of north latitude, and is 
998 miles from New York, and 972 miles from Colon. The island is 
pear-shaped, with its smaller extremity pointing south, and is twelve 
miles long, and six miles wide, containing an area of about sixty square 
miles. It is flat and fringed with reefs. The coral formation of 
Watling, like that of the other islands of this group, is covered with a 
sparse soil, which supports only a scrubby vegetation. Though the 
climate is subtropical, the tall, stately trees and rank vegetation 
described by Columbus (and repeated by some recent writers) are 
absent. There are salt-water lagoons in the interior of the island. 

According to tradition, Watling Island is named after Captain George 
Watling, an old buccaneer commander. The population comprises about 
600 negroes and mixed breeds, and one white Collector. The main 
settlement is Cockburn Town, on the roadstead of Riding Rocks, mak- 
ing into the west coast, where Columbus first landed, some say. The 
people maintain an Episcopal and a Baptist church. Watling Island 
belongs to Great Britain, which supports a lighthouse on Dixon Hill, 
the highest elevation, in the northeast part of the island. The light- 
house is half a mile from the beach, and is in latitude 24° 06' north, and 
longitude 74° 26' west. Steamers between New York and Panama, as 
well as most vessels plying between North and South America, pick up 

fifty-one 



FIRST VOYAGE OP 

Columbus described Guanahani as large and very level, with- 
out any mountain, but with a large lagoon in the middle, all 
covered with forest trees and verdure most pleasing to the 
eye, and surrounded by a dangerous reef of rocks with a 
very narrow entrance. This applies, more or less, to a number 
of the islands. Like all islands of coral formation, the 
Bahamas are flat, with barrier-reefs. The stately trees and 
rich vegetation are now found on none of the group. Wat- 
ling's and Crooked have salt-water lagoons, but Cat Island has 
none. It is conceivable that the natural forces, like hurricanes, 
tidal waves, or subsidence of the group, which destroyed the 
tall timber and swept from the islands the rich soil described 
by Columbus, could very readily fill up a shallow lagoon, or 
even make one on an island where none previously existed. 
In imagination one can even picture Guanahani as hiding 
beneath the waters of the ocean, in company with the lost 
Atlantis, and adding another puzzle to perplex the inquiring 
mind of man. 

The squadron of Columbus departed from Guanahani on the 
afternoon of Sunday, October 14th, probably sailed around the 
northern end of the island, and then down its west coast. 
Seven natives were taken along as guides, without doubt 
against their wills, as one jumped overboard the first night, and 
another escaped when near the next landing-place. 

The Admiral saw an island about six leagues away, which 
he reached at noon of the 15th, and named Santa Maria de la 
Concepcion. Authorities claim that this was Rum Cay, twenty 
miles south of Watling's Island. From here he sailed to 
another island visible to the westward, and on the way picked 
up a lonely Indian in a canoe, who, no doubt, was a messenger 
sent out from San Salvador, as shown by some glass beads and 
two hlancas, or small Spanish coins, in his possession. Colum- 
bus served him with "bread, honey, and drink," and when near 
the next island the Indian was given his canoe and permitted to 
go ashore. His good report of the strangers brought the 
natives ofT in great numbers, who bartered their ornaments 
with the Spaniards, and helped to fill the pipes with fresh water. 
It was here that the Europeans first observed the suspended 
sleeping net, which the Indians called hamaca, origin of our 
English word hammock, 

Watling light. If Watling Island is Guanahani, preponderance of evi- 
dence indicates that Columbus made his first landing in Green's Harbor, 
not far from the lighthouse; where Walter Wellman, in 1891, acting 
for the Chicago Herald, erected a monument to commemorate the 
notable event. 

fifty-two 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

These natives seem more modest and intelligent, and, what is 
more important, have a greater number of golden ornaments 
than the Indians on San Salvador and Santa Maria. Columbus 
calls this island Fernandina, in honor of the King, and it has 
been identified as the present Long Island. 

On the morning of the 19th, the Admiral sailed to the south- 
east, and at midday reached the northern extremity of an island 
called Saomote, in the native tongue, but which he renamed 
Isabella, after the Queen. The three vessels anchored near an 
islet, in all probability the little island now known as Bird 
Rock, close by the northwest extremity of Crooked Island. 
Bird Rock light is eighty miles south of Watling, and eighteen 
miles north of Fortune Island, by steamer route. 

Adjoining Crooked Island, on the south, is Fortune Island; 
but Columbus does not note the separation, and writes of the 
whole as Isabella. He is charmed with the beauty of the place. 
The air is filled with sweet and delightful odors from trees 
and flowers, and the exquisite melody of numerous birds. 
Flocks of parrots obscured the heavens, and the verdure was 
as green as in April in Andalusia. Citing again from the 
"Journal": "Groves of lofty and flourishing trees are abun- 
dant, as also large lakes, surrounded and overhung by the 
foliage in a most enchanting manner. * * * The land is 
higher than the other islands, and exhibits an eminence which, 
though it cannot be called a mountain, yet adds beauty to its 
appearance, and gives an indication of streams of water in the 
interior. * * * My eyes are never tired with viewing such 
delightful verdure and of a species so new and dissimilar to 
that of our country, and I have no doubt there are trees and 
herbs here which would be of great value in Spain, as dyeing 
materials, medicines, spices, etc., but I am mortified that I 
have no acquaintance with them." 

A cape near which the Admiral anchors, supposed to be the 
north point of Crooked Island, he names Cabo Hermoso — 
Cape Beautiful — "because it is so." The Spaniards land and 
fill their water-casks, perhaps at what is known as "French- 
man's Wells," in Fortune Island. They also kill an "ugly 
serpent," later known as the iguana, which the Indians much 
relished as food. 

Columbus plans to sail around Isabella till he shall find the 
King, "in order to see if I can acquire any of the gold which I 
hear he possesses," but changes his mind when the natives, by 
signs, indicate a much larger island to the southwest, called 
Cuba, where dwells a great ruler in much majesty. In the dis- 

fifty-three 



FIRST VOYAGE OF 

eased imagination of Columbus this could be none other than 
Cipango, and so he wrote in his Journal : 

"I weighed anchor at midnight from the Island of Isabella 
and the cape of the Rocky Islet, in order to go to the island of 
Cuba, which these people tell me is very large, with much trade, 
and yielding gold and spices ; and by their signs I understand it 
to be the island of Cipango, of which marvelous things are 
related, and which, on the globes and maps I have seen, is in 
this region; and they told me I should sail to reach it west- 
southwest, as now I am sailing." 

Reluctantly the Spaniards take leave of this enchanted isle, 
and on the 24th Columbus again follows the lure of gold to the 
southwest. The clear, shallow waters of the Bahama Banks 
teem with fishes, rivaling in colors the plumage of the birds; 
the air is filled with aromatic fragrance, so that Columbus 
believes he is among the Spice Islands of the East, and deplores 
his inability to express the sweet impressions awakened in his 
mind. 

He passed southeast of a string of islets which he names Islas 
de Arena, now called Ragged Islands; and on the 28th of 
October arrived in sight of Cuba, which from its magnitude and 
the height of its mountains reminded him of Sicily. Most 
likely it was at Jibara, and not farther westward at Nuevitas, 
as stated by Irving, that Columbus first landed in Cuba and 
took possession of the country, calling it Juana, in honor of the 
Royal Prince. Fortunately, Cuba is one of the few places 
which have retained their primitive appellations. 

"When I arrived at Juana I followed the coast to the west- 
ward, and found it so extensive that I considered it must be a 
continent and a province of Cathay. After having continued 
many leagues, without finding signs of towns or cities, and 
seeing that the coast took me northward, where I did not wish 
to go, as winter was already set in, I considered it best to follow 
it to the south, and therefore returned to a certain port, from 
whence I sent two messengers into the country, to ascertain 
whether there was any King there or any large city." 

The port to which Columbus returned he called Puerto Santo. 
The clear river emptying into the harbor, its banks lined with 
palm trees, he named the River of Palms. The Admiral 
mentions the perpendicular, flat-topped mountain, rising to a 
height of 1800 feet back of the port. It is known from its 
peculiar shape as the Yunque (Anvil). 

The port is now Baracoa, one of the most beautiful harbors 
in the world. The clearness of the water and the rich plumage 
of the birds, the great forest trees and many graceful palms 

fifty-four 



COLUMBUS TO AMBRICA 

clothing hill and savannah, as they slope up to the mountains, 
stir the poetic soul of the Great Discoverer, and he writes that 
these things "render this country of such marvelous beauty that 
it surpasses all others in charms and graces, as the day doth 
the night in lustre." 

It was up this same River of Palms that the Spaniards 
found a great canoe, made from the trunk of a single tree, 
probably the ceiba, capable of holding fifty people. Either 
from Jibara or Baracoa, Columbus sent forth his famous 
embassy to a place in the interior which the Indians called 
Cuha-nacdn. The disordered brain of the Admiral thought 
they meant Kublai Khan, the great Tartar sovereign ; and even 
Martin Alonzo Pinzon favored this belief. 

Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres, the latter a converted 
Jew speaking Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Arabic, set out for the 
court of the great Khan, said to be four days' journey inland. 
They carry that ridiculous letter of introduction, heretofore 
mentioned, and are guided by two Indians, one from San Sal- 
vador and the other a Cuban. 

While awaiting the return of his envoys, the Admiral 
careened, cleaned, and caulked his ships, one at a time, in the 
harbor at the mouth of the Rio de los Mares. 

Mariners have always wondered why Columbus, on his first 
voyage, encountered none of the hurricanes so common in and 
about the West Indies during the latter months of the year. 
Had he been caught in the open sea by one of these fierce 
storms, it is probable that all three frail vessels would have 
been wrecked on the islands or keys. The caulkers gather 
wood to heat their tar, and Columbus notes the odor of mastic 
in the smoke, the precious gum then obtained only from the 
Grecian Archipelago. 

In the meantime, the two ambassadors, after traveling some 
twelve leagues inland, arrive at the court of the chief ruler. 
Instead of an Oriental potentate in a city roofed with gold, they 
find an Indian cacique living in a village of about fifty palm- 
thatched shacks; in place of bowing before the great Khan, 
they themselves were worshiped as celestial beings. When 
shown gold, pearls, and spices, these Indians also pointed to 
the southwest. 

It was among the Cuban Indians that the Spaniards first 
observed maize (corn), and a sort of potato or yam. Here, 
also, the natives were first seen rolling the dry leaves, before 
noticed, into a cylindrical form, lighting one end with a fire- 
brand, and drawing the smoke through the other end, which 
was held in the mouth. The Indians called these rolled leaves 

fifty-five 



FIRST VOYAGE OF 

tobaccos, and to this day in Cuba cigars are called tobaccos as 
frequently as they are cigarros. The Cubans likewise culti- 
vated the yuca (or manioc), whose starchy roots furnished the 
cassava bread, sweet peppers, and a kind of bean. Numerous 
strange fruits abound. 

Two peculiar small quadrupeds were found in Cuba, the 
hutia, a kind of coney, now seldom seen, and a strange mute 
dog, which has become extinct. "Ye Dumme Dogge," as the 
old historians quaintly called the latter, was used in hunting the 
hutia, and also as an article of flesh flood, together with the 
iguana. 

Cotton yarn was made from the wild plants, and woven into 
nets and hamacas. The natives possessed the primitive art of 
fire-making by the friction of two sticks of wood. 

With all its natural beauty and bountiful vegetation, Cuba 
lacked the one essential charm — Columbus found no gold in 
Cuba! 

The Admiral forbade his men to traffic with the natives 
except for the precious metal; but all he could see was one 
small ring in the nose of an Indian, and that resembled silver 
more than gold. When questioned concerning gold, the Cubans 
either pointed to the southwest, or mentioned "Babeque" or 
"Bohio ;" so Columbus sets sail to the southeast, along the north 
coast of Cuba, in the direction of Bohio. Had he sailed west- 
ward, Columbus would have found Cuba to be an island, and 
have discovered the coast of Florida. Cuba was not circum- 
navigated till in 1508, two years after the death of the 
Admiral ; and in all his subsequent experience in the Caribbean 
Sea and about the West Indian islands, Columbus never viewed 
the mainland of the New World he discovered north of Central 
America. 

Columbus takes along some of the Cuban Indians, including 
several women, which Las Casas, in his "Historia de las 
Indias," calls a detestable act. 

While sailing eastward, the fleet passes a collection of little 
islands, which Columbus calls "El Jardin del Rey" — the King's 
Garden. On November 25th, while trying to round the east- 
ernmost point of Cuba, called Maisi, the Admiral encounters 
strong head-winds, and signals the two caravels to put back to 
the shelter of the Cuban coast. The fast sailer Pinta, being in 
advance, kept on her course ; for Captain Martin Alonzo Pin- 
zon, the financial backer of Columbus, had decided to hasten 
on, at all hazards, to the golden island of Babeque, or Bohio. 
He might soon be repaid a hundred fold for all the expense and 
danger he had incurred. 

fifty-six 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

The Santa Maria and Nina seek a harbor in a small river east 
of Baracoa, from which they make another start on the 4th of 
December. Columbus arrived at Cuba believing it to be the 
island of Cipango (Zipangu), 500 leagues off the coast of 
China; when he departed he entertained the belief that it was 
a portion of Mangi, on the mainland. So the next day when 
he doubles Cape Maisi, he names it Cape Alpha and Omega, 
thinking it the extreme eastern projection of the Asian conti- 
nent. Instead of turning to the southwest, Columbus followed 
the advice of his Indians and sailed to the southeast, the direc- 
tion in which the Pinta had disappeared. 

The lighthouse on Cape Maisi is 239 miles south of Wat- 
ling's Island. The passage east of Cuba is called the Wind- 
ward Channel, and is the route followed by vessels from New 
York and other northern ports to South America, the Isthmus 
of Panama, and points in the Caribbean Sea. 

Fifty miles southeast of Cape Maisi, across the Windward 
Channel, is Cape San Nicolas, the extreme northwestern ex- 
tremity of the large island of Haiti. Columbus was but a few 
hours sail from Cuba when his Indians exclaimed "Bohio!" 
and pointed to towering mountains straight ahead. As he 
approached the land in the evening the Admiral noticed fires 
on shore as far as the eye could see. 

On December 6th, with the little Nina in advance taking 
soundings, the Santa Maria follows into a spacious bay, which 
Columbus names San Nicolas, in honor of Saint Nicholas, 
whose fete day it was. On account of a natural quay, it is 
more commonly known as Mole San Nicolas. 

Columbus then sails eastward along the northern shore of 
Haiti. Meeting rough weather, the vessels take shelter under 
the lee of a small island, a few miles off the coast, which Colum- 
bus calls Tortuga, because of its resemblance to a sea-turtle. 
This little island becomes famous, in the second quarter of the 
seventeenth century, as the headquarters of that brotherhood of 
seamen generally referred to as the buccaneers. 

Opposite Tortuga, on the main island, Columbus finds a 
beautiful valley, with a river running through it, which is so 
enchanting that he names it Val de Paraiso (Vale of Paradise). 
On the 1 2th day of December, in a port which he called Con- 
cepcion, Columbus takes possession of Haiti, with the usual 
ceremonies, and erects a cross on an eminence. The aboriginal 
name, Haiti, meant high land, or Island of Mountains, a very 
appropriate appellation. Columbus, however, renamed it His- 
paniola, or Espanola, because, as he said, it reminded him of 
the south of Spain. The western end of the island was called 

fifty-seven 



FIRST VOYAGE OP 

by the natives Bohio, and the eastern section Babeque, the 
region of gold. This corresponds, roughly, with the modern 
division of the island into the black Republic of Haiti, and 
the Republic of Santo Domingo. 

When the Spaniards landed, all the Indians fled, except a 
young woman, who, like Lot's wife, stopped to look back, and 
was caught, perhaps not unwillingly, by three of the seamen. 
Her dark skin and total nudity gave no promise of Oriental 
civilization ; but, then, she had a golden ring in her nose. 
Columbus clothes the naked beauty in a shirt, puts a string of 
beads about her neck, and treats her so well that the coy maiden 
is reluctant to return to her people. Her good report of the 
white strangers induces the rest to come forth, bringing cassava 
bread, fish, and fruits, which they offer to the Spaniards. The 
Admiral continues eastward, either entering or noting each 
harbor and river. The farther he goes the more gold is seen 
among the natives, and as they crowd about the two ships in 
their canoes to barter, very few escape without paeting with 
nose-ring or plate of gold for some European bauble or bit 
of broken dish. The Indians are particularly delighted with 
the little bells, or chug-chugs, as they call them. On December 
i8th, there being no wind, the Spaniards decked out their 
vessels and fired a salute in memory of the annunciation of 
the Blessed Virgin. 

While in a beautful harbor, probably the Bay of Acul, 
Columbus receives a young chieftain, who was carried on the 
shoulders of his subjects, bearing a present from the head 
Cacique of that region, named Guacanagari, and an invitation 
to visit him. The present comprised a cotton girdle, to which 
was attached a mask, with eyes, nose, tongue, and ears of gold. 
It was here that the Admiral first heard of the Cibao, a 
mountain region in the interior, from whence came the gold. 
Columbus was continually identifying American with East 
Asian names; so he immediately declares Ci-ba-o to be the 
Ci-pan-go of Marco Polo. 

Monday morning, December 24th, the Admiral again sails to 
the east, intending to visit Guacanagari in his village of 
Guarico. Columbus usually kept the deck himself, but this 
night the sea is "calm as water in a dish," to use his own words, 
so the Admiral takes some much-needed repose. The watch 
went to sleep, and the helmsman gave the tiller to a boy and 
followed his example. This is the only boy mentioned in the 
first voyage of Columbus, and no blame attaches to him for 
what followed. 

fifty-eight 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

Very early on Christmas morning, 1492, Columbus' flagship, 
the Santa Maria, was carried by a treacherous current hard 
upon a reef, which, according to Ober, is located in front of 
Cape Haitien. Fortunately, Guarico, now the fishing hamlet 
of Petit Anse, was but a few miles away; so Columbus sent 
messengers to Guacanagari imploring assistance. The Admiral 
ordered his captain to carry an anchor astern, and make an 
effort to warp the Santa Maria off the reef ; instead of which 
he rows off to the Niiia, less than two miles to windward. 
Vicente Yanez Pinzon — those Pinzons were all brave sailor- 
men — reproves the captain, and hastens to the relief of the 
Santa Maria. The masts are cut away and some of the cargo 
thrown overboard to lighten her, but the old boat remains fast, 
and is rapidly going to pieces in the breakers. The Admiral 
and his crew go aboard the Nina, and Guacanagari hastens to 
the wreck with a fleet of canoes, and carries all the stores in 
safety to his village, where they are guarded with savage 
fidelity. "The wreckers' trade might flourish in Cornwall, but, 
like other crimes of civilization, it was unknown in St. 
Domingo." — (Helps.) 

Columbus is much cast down by his misfortune, and the 
Cacique gives a great feast to honor and divert this white god 
who has come to visit him. Guacanagari exhibits so much 
natural dignity and gentle courtesy that he completely wins the 
heart of the Admiral. After the sumptuous meal, a thousand 
naked Indians engage in their primitive dances, to the sound of 
tom-toms, to entertain the Spaniards. 

Wishing to impress the natives with his power, Columbus 
ordered a famous Moorish bowman in his company to exhibit 
his skill with the cross-bow. He then fired off an arquebus; 
and when he discharged one of his small cannon, which splm- 
tered the shrubbery in its path, the Indians fell on the ground 
in alarm. Guacanagari takes the golden crown from his own 
head and places it on the head of Columbus. The subchiefs 
likewise give up their coronets to the Admiral. Columbus 
presents Guacanagari with a pair of red shoes, a large silver 
ring (highly valued because there was no silver in Haiti), and 
a bead collar; and then, in an exuberance of affection and 
generosity, throws his fine scarlet robe over the shoulders of 
the chief. During the feast an Indian arrives and tells of see- 
ing another vessel, the Pinta, of course, two days previous. 

All this time the Spaniards are exchanging their trinkets and 
pieces of iron and leather for gold-dust, nuggets, and orna- 
ments. The Indians have a fashion of smelling the European 
articles, and calling them turey; that is, from heaven. 

fifty-nine 



FIRST VOYAGE OF 

These Indians were so friendly, and possessed so much gold, 
which came from the Cibao not very far away, that Colum- 
bus decided to leave here a portion of his command, which 
could gather in the precious metal, while he himself hurried 
back to Spain to bring out more men and supplies. This was 
agreeable to Guacanagari, who thought how advantageous it 
would be to have the powerful aid of these supernatural beings" 
to repel the dreaded Caribs, those fierce cannibals who roasted 
his men and stole his women. 

On a small hill, near the Indian village of Guarico, Chris- 
topher Columbus constructed from the timbers of his flagship, 
the wrecked Santa Maria, a wooden tower, or fort, mounted 
with lombards, and surrounded by a ditch. He named the fort 
Navidad (the Nativity), in memory of their escape from the 
wreck on Christmas Day. Barring the discovery of America 
and attempt at settlement made by the Norsemen in the tenth 
century, this was the very first structure erected and the very 
first colony planted by Europeans in the New World. 

So willing were the Indians to assist in the work that the 
fort was finished by New Year's Day, 1493. I^ it were placed 
arms and ammunition, provisions sufficient to supply the gar- 
rison for one year, articles for traffic, and seeds for planting. 
So attractive was life in these islands that most of the Spaniards 
volunteered to remain ; and of these the Admiral selected forty 
men to garrison La Navidad. One of these was Diego de 
Arana, a cousin of Beatrix Enriquez. He was a notary and 
alguacil, and to him was given the command. 

Before leaving, the Admiral gives a return banquet, after 
which the Spaniards, in sword and buckler, exhibit a sham- 
battle to impress the Indians. Guacanagari is so grieved at the 
departure of his new friend and ally that he orders a statue of 
Columbus to be made of gold, "as large as life." 

Columbus counseled those staying on Haiti to stick together 
and obey their officers, to be just to the Indians, and, above 
all, to be chaste in their conduct with the native women. Janu- 
ary 4, 1493, Columbus and the other Spaniards set sail for 
Spain on the little Nina, which saluted the fort as she left the 
harbor. The salutation was returned; and this was the last 
they ever saw of Navidad and their countrymen. 

Nevertheless, here was the beginning of the Spaniards' curse, 
which depopulated the inhabitants of Haiti in so brief a time 
as to have no parallel in history. When White Man met Red 

" "The Indians soon understood that instead of being children of God, 
they were a new plague that Heaven had sent to their injury." — 
Quintana. 

sixty 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

Man the inevitable conflict of races ensued, and, as always 
happens, the weaker perished. 

The coast line still extended toward the east in the direction 
of Spain, so the Admiral continued to sail along the shores of 
Haiti. On the 6th, while beating up against a stiff breeze, the 
Pinta was seen approaching under full sail before the wind. 
Columbus put about to find a harbor, signalling to the Pinta to 
follow, and they both came to anchor near a promontory, which 
he called Monte-Cristi. Captain Pinzon explained his disap- 
pearance on November 20th as due to stress of weather. As 
a matter of fact, under the guidance of an Indian aboard, he 
had intentionally run away from the Admiral, in order to be 
the first to reach Babeque, the Land of Gold. Pinzon was the 
first to reach the district of Haiti called Babeque, but whether 
the first to arrive at the island is doubtful, as he encountered 
numerous other islands before reaching Haiti. 

He had obtained a large amount of gold, half of which he 
kept, dividing the other half among his crew. Columbus 
smothered his wrath, because he was, literally, in the hands of 
the Pinzons. He did, however, insist on Martin Alonzo 
releasing four men and two girls he had seized on Haiti. 

About a league from Monte Cristi is a river called then, as 
now, the Yaqui. Here the vessels took in fresh water ; and 
on account of particles of gold adhering to the hoops of the 
casks, Columbus named it Rio del Oro, or Golden River. The 
Yaqui has its origin in the Cibao, or "Goldstone" country, and 
is in the region that was called Babeque. It was here that Martin 
Alonzo Pinzon obtained most of his gold. The Admiral notes 
the presence of many large turtles ; and sees the faces of three 
mermaids rise from the water, like he had seen on the Guinea 
coast ; and adds that they were "not so handsome" as generally 
represented. Undoubtedly, these were manatis, or sea-cows 
(Manatus americanus) . 

On January 9th, the reunited vessels sail to the eastward, and 
the next day pass a cloud-capped mountain, which Columbus 
calls Monte de Plata, or Mountain of Silver. This has given 
name to the present town and port of Puerto Plata, on the 
north coast of Santo Domingo. Continuing along the coast, 
they pass Cape Cabron, and a few leagues farther on round 
Balandra Head into the magnificent Bay of Samana, on the 
northeast corner of Haiti. 

Here Columbus meets a tribe of Indians quite different from 
those previously seen. A party of Spaniards seeking water is 
suddenly attacked by about fifty painted natives, armed with 
war-clubs, javelins, and bows as long as those used by English 

sixty-one 



FIRST VOYAGE OF 

archers. The Spaniards wound several, when the rest take to 
flight, leaving so many arrows on the field that the Admiral 
names the bay Golfo de las Flechas, or Gulf of Arrows. 

This was the first native blood shed by the Spaniards in the 
Western Hemisphere. These Indians, the Ciguayans, closely 
resembled their fierce neighbors, the Caribs ; and were under 
the dominion of Cacique Mayonahex. Columbus was much 
concerned as to the effect of this bloodshed upon the attitude 
of the Indians; but the latter seemed to look upon the fight 
simply as a pleasant introduction. The next morning a great 
number of warriors came down to the beach and bartered with 
the Spaniards in great amity, the chief himself being enter- 
tained by the Admiral, to whom he presented his golden coronet. 

Four of the Indians told of an island to the northeast 
inhabited solely by women, and volunteered to serve as guides. 
As the coast now turned to the south, and this was in the direc- 
tion of Spain, Columbus gladly accepted their offer, and took 
the four young men aboard. To the Admiral this island of 
women, called Madinino, was simply another confirmation of 
Marco Polo, who wrote of an island of Amazons. 

January i6, 1493, Columbus, with the Nina and the Pinta, 
took final departure from Haiti, or Hispaniola, as he now called 
the island, and headed northeastward for Spain. When once 
at sea the Ciguayans became confused about the direction of 
Madinino, or the Island of Amazons, so the Admiral carried 
them on to Spain, where they, with the other Indians, formed 
the principal feature of his triumphal journey across Spain to 
appear before Ferdinand and Isabella at Barcelona. These 
Indians were baptised in Barcelona, where one of them soon 
died, the first native of the New World, according to Herrera, 
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 

As we do not pretend to give a full account of the life and 
voyages of Columbus, but only those facts and events leading 
up to the discovery and settlement of the Isthmus of Panama 
and Castilla del Oro, we will pass over the incidents attending 
his perilous return voyage, and the brief period when Court 
and courtiers did him honor, during which Columbus drained 
the cup of joy to the dregs. 

In the midst of a great storm," the Pinta, about February 
13th, became separated from the Nina, and the latter, with 
great difficulty, reaches St. Mary, one of the Azores. After 
some difficulty with the Portuguese Governor, Castafieda, the 
Admiral departs from St. Mary's on the 24th. A few days 
later, when nearing the coast of Spain, the Nina runs into 
another gale, which almost swamps the caravel. While driven 

sixty-tivo 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

under bare poles, Columbus sights the rock of Cintra, at the 
mouth of the Tagus, and on March 4th manages to work into 
the river, which is the port of Lisbon. When invited to the 
Court by King John, no doubt Columbus enjoyed describing 
the richness of the lands which Portugal had declined to seek. 
In the midst of their chagrin some of the courtiers even propose 
to kill Columbus, and seize this new territory for Portugal. 

On the 13th, the Admiral takes leave of this dangerous 
hospitality, and on March 15, 1493, he arrives back at Palos, 
after an absence of a little less than seven and a half months. 
The same day, while the peals of triumph are still ringing for 
Columbus, the Pinta also reaches Palos, from the Bay of 
Biscay, where she was driven by the storms, and Martin Alonzo 
Pinzon quietly proceeds to his home, where he dies shortly 
afterwards. 

In the evening, in fulfillment of vows made during the tem- 
pest, the Admiral and his crew marched in procession through 
the tearful populace to the convent Church of Santa Clara, at 
Moguer, where they offered up thanks for their safe return 
from the voyage into the unknown seas. 

Names of the Europeans left at Navidad in 1493 : 

"Lista de las personas que Colon dejo en la Isla Espanola y hallo 
muertas por los Indios cuando volvio a poblarla en 1493. — (R. Arch, de 
Indias en Sevilla, Papeles de Contratacion, y en la Colec. de Muiioz.) 

Alonso Velez de Mendoza : de Sevilla. 

Alvar Perez Osorio: de Castro jeriz. 

Antonio de Jaen : de Jaen. 

El Bachiller Bernardino de Tapia : natural de Ledesma. 

Cristobal del Alamo: natural del Condado (de Niebla). 

Castillo, platero : natural de Sevilla. 

Diego Garcia : de Jerez. 

Diego de Tordoya : de Cabeza de Vaca. 

Diego de Capilla: del Almaden. 

Diego de Torpa. 

Diego de Mambles : natural de Mambles. 

'Fearing his ship might founder during the tempest of February 14, 
and news of his discovery be lost, the Admiral wrote on parchment to 
his sovereigns that he had found the Indies. Sealing the announcement 
in waxed cloth, he placed it in a cask, and committed the message to 
the mercy of the angry waves. Don Fernando tells us that his father 
wrote a second notice, which he attached to a log on deck, so that it 
would float away should the vessel sink. The next day, February 15, 
1493, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, Escribano de 
Racion ; and on February 18 he wrote another letter relating his discov- 
ery to Gabriel (Raphael) Sanchez, controller of finances; both of 
which have been preserved. These letters were put in print the same 
year, and constitute the first documents narrating the discovery of 
America. 

sixty-three 



FIRST VOYAGB OP 

Diego de Mendoza: de Guadalajara. 

Diego de Montalban : de Jaen. 

Domingo de Bermeo. 

Francisco Fernandez. 

Francisco de Godoy: natural de Sevilla. 

Francisco de Vergara : natural de Sevilla. 

Francisco de Aranda : de Aranda. 

Francisco de Henao : de Avila. 

Francisco de Jimenez : de Sevilla. 

Gabriel Baraona : de Belmonte. 

Gonzalo Fernandez de Segovia : de Leon. 

Gonzalo Fernandez : de Segovia. 

Guillermo Ires : natural de Galney, en Irlanda. 

Hornando de Porcuna. 

Jorge Gonzalez : natural de Trigueros. 

Juan de Urniga. 

Juan Morcillo: de Villanueva de la Serena. 

Juan de Cueva : de Castuera. 

Juan Patino: de la Serena. 

Juan del Barco: del Barco de Avila. 

Juan de Villar: del Villar. 

Juan de Mendoza. 

Martin de Lograsan : cerca de Guadalupe. 

Pedro Corbacho : de Caceres. 

Pedro de Talavera. 

Pedro de Foronda. 

Sebastian de Mayorga: natural de Mayorga. 

Tallarte de Lajes: ingles. 

Tristan de San Jorge." 

— (Navarrete, tomo II, pag. 19.) 

Navarrete notes that Munoz, at different places, gives the number of 
men as being 27, 38, and 39. The above list includes 40 persons; to 
which must be added the names of the Governor, Diego de Arana, and 
his two lieutenants, Pedro Gutierrez and Rodrigo de Escobedo ; making 
43 in all. 

It will be observed that one of these, Guillermo Ires, was an Irish- 
man, probably William Harris, of Galway ; and that the name written 
Tallarte de Lajes belonged to an Englishman, perhaps Arthur Laws or 
Larkins. This list gives Francisco de Vergara, not given by Captain 
Duro, who includes Maestre Juan, surgeon, in his enumeration ; so that 
both registers contain 43 names. 



sixty-four 



CHAPTER IV 



SECOND VOYAGE 

OF 

COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

1493 
Discovery of the Lesser Antilles, Porto Rico, and Jamaica 

"In placid indolence supinely blest, 
A feeble race these beauteous isles possess'd ; 
Untamed, untaught, in arts and arms unskill'd, 
Their patrimonial soil they rudely till'd. 
Chased the free rovers of the savage wood, 
Ensnared the wild-bird, swept the scaly flood; 
Shelter'd in lowly huts their fragile forms 
From burning suns and desolating storms; 
Or when the halcyon sported on the breeze. 
In light canoes they skimmed the rippling seas; 
Their lives in dreams of soothing langour flew. 
No parted joys, no future pain they knew. 
The passing moment all their bliss or care; 
Such as their sires had been the children were. 
From age to age, as waves upon the tide 
Of stormless time, they calmly lived and died." 

James Montgomery. 

iN the same letter in which the Sovereigns 
welcome Columbus back to Spain they bid him 
hasten preparations for another voyage to the 
new lands he had discovered. The astute and 
wily Ferdinand shared with Columbus the 
belief that these islands were on the borders 
of India and Cathay, and he was fully alive 
to the possibilities for glory and profit to be 
derived from them. To shut out any claims to 
these lands which Portugal might make under 
the Papal edict of 147 1, granting her exclusive 
right to navigate to the eastward, Spain applied to Pope 
Alexander VI, as representative of the Creator, to confirm her 
title of discovery; and the Pope, on May 3d and 4th, 1493, 
issued his famous Bulls dividing the unknown world between 
Spain and Portugal by a "line of demarcation" passing 100 
leagues west of the Azores and Cape de Verde islands, and 
extending from Pole to Pole {vide Appendix). 

A royal decree was issued forbidding anyone making a 
voyage to the Indies, except with the permission of their 

sixty-five 




SECOND VOYAGE OF 

Majesties ; and all barter and traffic with the Indians was 
declared a monopoly of the Crown. Columbus received a coat- 
of-arms ; and the pledges made him in the capitulation of April 
30, 1492, were confirmed, on the 28th of May, in a formidable 
document beginning: "In the name of the Holy Trinity and 
Eternal Unity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and of the 
Blessed Virgin, the Glorious St. Mary, Our Lady; and of the 
Blessed Apostle St. James, Light and Mirror of All Spain, 
Patron and Guide of the Sovereigns of Castile and Leon; and 
of all the other Saints, Male and Female, in the Courts of 
Heaven." 

In spite of the multitude of heavenly witnesses, the 
unscrupulous Ferdinand had no difficulty in breaking this 
obligation when it suited his purpose so to do. 

No sooner was it known that the Admiral was returning to 
the islands of gold and spices than all the adventurers and 
soldiers of fortune turned loose by the cessation of the Moorish 
wars clamored for office in the expedition, or at least a passage 
to the new islands. Though the ships carried cattle, seeds, and 
tools to form a colony, but few went out with any intention 
of remaining in Hispaniola ; and all expected to reap a golden 
harvest from the simple and timid natives. 

For once in his life Ferdinand became enthusiastic, and 
counted not the cost in furnishing a large fleet, believing that 
in a few months Antonio de Torres, the second in command, 
would come sailing back to Spain with his ships full of the 
costly drugs and spices of the East ; and the ton of gold which 
Columbus reckoned the garrison of Navidad could accumulate 
during his absence. With great difficulty, and even by extor- 
tion, and sequestering the property of the banished Jews, funds, 
were raised to obtain and equip vessels at Seville, Cadiz, and 
other places and ports in Andalusia. 

Although Columbus was such a devout churchman, many of 
his troubles were brought upon him by prelates of his own 
faith. He came near being consigned to the Inquisition by the 
Junta before the first voyage ; and now the management of the 
outfitting of his second expedition is given to Juan Rodrigues 
de Fonseca, Archdeacon of Seville, later made Bishop of 
Burgos. From the very start, Fonseca was unfriendly to 
Columbus, and continued his enmity until even after the death 
of the Admiral. Columbus was a foreigner, and seems to have 
been thoroughly disliked by most of the Spaniards, both high 
and low, with whom he came in contact. He made his great 
discovery with neither relative nor fast friend, but at the head 

sixty-six 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

of a mutinous crew; and his success served to excite the jeal- 
ousy and resentment of many grandees and clerics about the 
Court. 

The ships are ordered to rendezvous at Cadiz, and sail on 
the 15th of July; but week after week slips by and the prepara- 
tions are still incomplete. Juonato Beradi, an Italian merchant 
in Seville, had a contract for furnishing many of the supplies, 
and employed as manager one Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo 
did not accompany Columbus on this voyage, but was destined 
later to have his name affixed to the New World discovered 
by Don Christopher. 

In the midst of the hurry and confusion, much fraud was 
perpetrated ; and the vessels sailed not only overloaded with an 
ill-assorted assemblage of persons, but fitted out with defective 
stores and provisions. The good meat and biscuit were 
exchanged for bad; men sold their armor and accoutrements; 
and even the twenty-five steeds for the men-at-arms of the 
Holy Brotherhood were replaced by twenty sorry hacks; not- 
withstanding the presence of scores of clerks, inspectors, and 
notaries, who made lists of every article taken aboard, and 
required affidavits from every individual. 

Finally, on September 25, 1493, a fleet of seventeen sail, 
consisting of three stately vessels (ships of from two to three 
hundred tons), and fourteen caravels, set sail from the harbor 
of Cadiz. One of the carracks, the Admiral's flagship, is the 
Maria Galante; another is called the Gallega. Among the cara- 
vels is the brave little Nina, already a veteran in transatlantic 
passage. Instead of carrying one thousand persons, as planned, 
fifteen hundred crowded and stowed themselves away on the 
ships. "Men were ready to leap into the sea to swim, if it had 
been possible, into those new-found parts," so wild were they 
to get to the Land of Gold. 

Among the notables on the fleet, or those destined to win 
renown in the West Indies, as the new region was now called, 
were Juan Ponce de Leon, who conquered Puerto Rico, discov- 
ered Florida, and vainly sought the Fountain of Eternal Youth; 
Alonso de Ojeda, protege of the Duke of Medina-Celi, a dash- 
ing young soldier from the Moorish wars, who would perform 
still greater deeds in the islands, and found the first settlement 
on the Gulf of Darien ; Juan de la Cosa, the ablest pilot of his 
time, who made the first map of the western world; Diego 
Colon, the youngest brother of Columbus, who should have 
been a monk instead of trying to manage an unruly colony; 
Diego de Alvarado, who sailed from Guatemala to dispute the 

sis:ty-seven 



SECOND VOYAGE OF 

possession of Peru with Pizarro; Francisco de Garay, who 
opposed Cortez ; Pedro de las Casas, father of the justly famous 
Fray Bartolome; Doctor Chanca, the Queen's own physician, 
and medical director of the fleet, who wrote a chronicle of the 
voyage and the first scientific sketch of America to the Chapter 
of Seville. Last, but not least, was Fray Bernardo Boil, a 
Benedictine monk, the apostolic delegate, and head of a dozen 
priests, "one of those subtle politicians of the cloister, who in 
those days glided into all temporal concerns." — (Irving.) 
According to Bancroft, there were aboard "also bloodhounds 
to aid in Christianizing and civilizing the natives." 

Columbus kept a sharp lookout for any Portuguese fleet that 
might try to intercept him, and on the 2d of October arrived 
safely at the Gran Canada without a conflict. On the 5th he 
anchored at Gomera, another island of the group, where he 
took on not merely fresh water and wood, but seeds and cut- 
tings 'Of the sugar-cane, oranges, lemons, vegetables, and 
melons ; and increased their stock of domestic animals. Among 
the latter were eight swine, costing seventy-five cents each, 
from which, so says Las Casas, sprung the infinite number of 
hogs subsequently found in the Spanish settlements. The 
sugar-cane, melons, citrous fruits, and swine brought to 
America from the Canaries have been of more benefit to 
mankind and productive of more wealth than all the billions 
of gold carried from the New World by the Spaniards. 

On the 13th the fleet passed Ferro, the most western of the 
islands; and on the twentieth day thereafter, November 3, 
1493, sighted the first land, which turned out to be a lofty 
island. Crews and passengers chant the "Salve Regina" and 
other services of the church. It being Sunday morning, 
Columbus gave it the name of Dominica, which it still retains. 
It was off this little island, in 1782, that Rodney won the 
mastery of the Caribbean for the British from the Frenchman 
De Grasse, flushed with his victory at Yorktown in the preced- 
ing year. 

Thirty miles to the southward could be seen the peaks of 
another Carib island, afterwards called Martinique, which 
became the residence of Madame de Maintenon and the birth- 
place of the Empress Josephine, two women destined to change 
the history of France. 

Columbus had intentionally taken a more southerly course 
than on his first voyage, in order to encounter, if fortunate, 
certain islands described by the Indians of Haiti as lying to the 
east and south of them; particularly the Island of Amazons, 

sixty-eight 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

and the Island o£ Cannibals. By this southern route he avoided 
the Sargasso Sea, and experienced no greater danger than a 
thunderstorm, when good St. Elmo, with lighted tapers, 
appeared on the mastheads and conducted them safely out 
of the tempest. 

Finding no anchorage, the Admiral detached a caravel to 
explore Dominica, and proceeded to a smaller island to the 
northward, which he named Marigalante, after his ship. A 
large party was landed, and with much ceremony Columbus 
took possession not only of that island and others in sight, but 
all unseen lands and the sea which embraced them ; all "in the 
manner provided by law," as Doctor Chanca wrote. No 
habitations are found here, but the caravel from Dominica 
reports seeing houses and people on that island. 

The next day Columbus sailed to an island about twenty 
miles north, which presented a great mountain peak, with a 
shining cataract on its side, which "appeared to fall from the 
skies." He calls the island Guadalupe, in fulfillment of a 
promise made to the monks of Estramadura. In the shacks 
were found many human bones and heads hanging from the 
rafters. A number of women fled to the Spaniards, and 
stated that they were captives from Buriquen, a large island 
in the north. The present island was called Turuqueira, and 
was inhabited by Caribs, who made raids on the northern 
islands, carrying off the men for food and the women for 
other purposes. Columbus rightly believed these to be the 
"cannibals" so much dreaded by the Lucayans and Haitians, 
but erred again when he sought confirmation in Marco Polo's 
book and identified them with the Anthropophagi of Asia. 

On Guadalupe the Spaniards find the sternpost of a Euro- 
pean ship, and what looks like an iron dish. Diego Marquez, 
the royal inspector, and captain of one of the caravels, with two 
pilots and eight men, go ashore without the Admiral's permis- 
sion, and lose themselves so completely in the tropical forest 
that Ojeda, with forty picked men, is unable to find them. 
Very fortunately, nearly all the male population is away on a 
foray, in ten war-canoes, and the half-starved wanderers 
return in safety to the ships, having delayed the expedition 
about a week. 

Sunday, November loth, the fleet weighed anchor and stood 
to the north in the direction of Hispaniola, Columbus giving 
names to the numerous islands of the Lesser Antilles which 
lay in their course. The next day he passes by a ragged island, 
which he calls Monserrate, after a mountain and monastery in 
Spain. A few miles away is a lovely rounded rock rising 

sixtv-nine 



SECOND VOYAGB OP 

several hundred feet above the sea, which is named Santa 
Maria la Redonda; and the next morning a low-lying island 
to the northeast receives the appellation Santa Maria la Antigua. 
A small island presenting a volcanic cone, reminds the Admrial 
of a snow-clad peak near Barcelona, and he calls it Nieves, or 
Snows ; later known as Nevis. 

Across a narrow channel is another island, with a towering 
central peak, which Columbus calls St. Christopher, after his 
patron saint. It was here that the English got their first foot- 
ing in the West Indies, in 1625 ; and the name was abbreviated 
to St. Kitt's. Farther on, the Admiral names St. Bustacio, 
St. Martin, and the rock-bound Saba. In affectionate remem- 
brance of his brother, he calls a small island St. Bartolome. 

On the 14th the fleet came to an island called Ayay by the 
Caribs, who, as usual, fled on the approach of the ships, leav- 
ing their captives to escape to the white men. While here, the 
Spaniards have their first fight with the Caribs. A canoe- 
load of Indians suddenly appears around a point and drop their 
paddles in amazement at the array of great winged vessels. A 
boat cuts oflE their retreat and overturns the canoe, but the 
Caribs continue shooting their arrows while in the water, and 
one of these arrows, which may have been poisoned, fired by 
a Carib woman, wounds a Basque so severely that he dies a 
few days later. Columbus calls this island Santa Cruz, and 
to the north names St. Thomas and St. John. 

Coming to a group of numerous islets, the Admiral calls the 
largest St. Ursula, and the fifty or more others the Eleven 
Thousand Virgins. Columbus noted that these islands, unlike 
the others, were destitute of trees. 

Sailing westward, the fleet arrived at the southeastern coast 
of the large island which was called Buriquen, or Borinquen, 
by the Indians. Columbus coasts along the southern shores of 
this island for a distance of about one hundred miles, and on 
the 19th enters a port on the west coast, now known as Agua- 
dilla, not far from Mayaguez. The Spaniards watered their 
ships at a spring, and are much impressed with the regular 
arrangement and neat appearance of the native village, all the 
people of which have fled. Columbus names the island San 
Juan Bautista, or Saint John the Baptist, soon changed to 
Puerto Rico. 

Early Thursday morning, November 21, 1493, the ships 
steer due west, and before night come in sight of a range 
of high mountains, which the Indians say is Haiti. Columbus 
had not previously visited the eastern coast of the island, so the 
next morning he sent ashore the remaining Indian, the other 

.<!eventy 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

three having died, of those he had carried away from Samana, 
in order to ascertain the direction of the settlement at Navidad. 
This Indian had been baptized and received into the church, and 
was finely dressed and ornamented, so that he was expected to 
become a very useful intermediary for the Spaniards. The 
young warrior was only too glad to tread his native soil again, 
and the Admiral waited in vain for his return. 

Columbus then turned towards the northern coast, and soon 
came to the large bay which he had named the Gulf of Arrows, 
and later known as the Bay of Samana. The fleet anchored at 
Cape Angel for the night, and engaged in friendly and profit- 
able barter with the natives. The next day the Admiral hast- 
ened westward, passing familiar landmarks he himself had 
named: Lover's Cape, Cape of Good Weather, Puerto de 
Plata, and Golden River, where he saw the mermaids, which 
had its origin in the golden Cibao, the Cipango of Marco Polo^ 
the mountains of which were plainly visible. 

On the 25th the fleet anchored at Monte Cristi, only eight 
leagues from Navidad, expecting to obtain some tidings about 
the colony. In this they were not disappointed. The landing 
party found two decomposed corpses bound upon two rude 
crosses, the one being a youth and the other an old man. The 
next day two more bodies are found on the bank of the river^ 
one of which bore a beard, which showed that they were not 
Indians. Filled with forebodings of disaster to his men, the 
Admiral hastened on to Navidad, and anchored off the reefs 
on the night of November 27th. Two cannon are fired, but 
all is dark and still on shore. Finally, about midnight, some 
Indians come off in a canoe, crying "Almirante!" The 
Admiral receives them, and recognizes one as the nephew of 
Guacanagari. They offer Columbus two golden masks, and 
tell him that some of his men had died from disease; others 
had quarreled and gone off into the interior with a train of 
females, while the rest had been killed in battle with Caonabo, 
the fierce mountain cacique, aided by Mayrionex, and the 
fortress of Navidad reduced to ashes. Guacanagari tried to 
aid his white friends, and suffered the loss of his village, and 
was himself wounded. Many of the Spaniards did not believe 
this account, and, with Father Boil, were for putting the 
chieftain to death ; but subsequent investigation tended to show 
that the garrison left at Navidad had brought their destruction 
upon themselves by insubordination to their officers, and cruel 
and outrageous treatment of the Indians. 

It being necessary to disembark his motley horde of adven- 
turers and establish another settlement, Columbus determined 

seventy-one 



SECOND VOYAGE OP 

to seek a better location, such as he had seen at Puerto de Plata. 
Sailing now to the eastward, on December 7th, the fleet, with 
difficulty, rounded Monte Cristi and reached the River of 
Thanks ; when, the wind remaining contrary, the Admiral put 
about to a port three leagues back ; where he unloaded his ships 
and laid out a town, which he called Isabella, in honor of the 
Queen. The place was abandoned a few years later, but its 
site has been located at the mouth of the Bajo-Bonico, about 
sixty miles west of Puerto Plata, where the outlines of the 
Admiral's house, the church, and storehouse are yet discernible. 

The neighboring swamps bred fever, from which many of 
the Spaniards died. Neither hidalgo nor nameless adventurer 
cared to work or tried to adapt themselves to the new environ- 
ment. Rations ran low, and there were not enough golden 
ornaments to suddenly enrich everyone. These settlers, like so 
many other gold-seekers, came to realize that the precious 
metal does not grow on trees, but is laboriously dug out of the 
earth or gathered from the sands of the rivers. Disappoint- 
ment and despondency gave rise to dissension and sedition, 
headed by Bernal Diaz, the royal comptroller; Firmin Cede, 
the assayer ; and Father Boil, the papal legate. 

Columbus, of course, was blamed for the misfortunes of the 
colony, and hoping to better their condition, he sent out two 
parties, commanded by Ojeda and Garbolan, respectively, to 
make a reconnoissance in the interior of the island. These 
young officers penetrated into the Cibao and Niti, where they 
found abundance of gold in every stream, Ojeda himself pick- 
ing up a nugget weighing nine ounces. 

On Sunday, February 2, 1494, Antonio de Torres is started 
back to Spain with twelve of the ships, taking with him about 
five hundred of the invalids and malcontents, a number of 
Indian men, women, boys, and girls, whom the Admiral desig- 
nated "Cannibals," and the gold accumulated since their 
arrival, including the gold masks and Ojeda's nugget. 

Leaving his weak brother Diego in command at Isabella, 
Columbus, on March 12th, set out for the golden Cibao at the 
head of four hundred men, bravely attired in armor and 
trappings, with standards and trumpets, and all the horses they 
could muster. The trail leading through the first range of 
mountains to the beautiful interior plain, afterwards named the 
Vega Real, was so narrow that the cavaliers, with their own 
hands, enlarged it for the passage of the horses. Columbus 
called it "Bl Puerto de los Caballeros" and as "Gentlemen's 
Pass" it is known today. On the border of the Cibao, by the 

seventy-two 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

Rio Yanique, a fort was constructed and named Santo Tomds 
de Yanico, the location of which is still pointed out. St. 
Thomas was garrisoned with fifty-two men, under command 
of Pedro Margarite, which, as usual with the Admiral's appoint- 
ments, was an unfortunate selection. 

March 29th, Columbus returned to Isabella, and on the 24th 
of April he set sail, in the three caravels he had retained, for 
the south coast of Cuba; to determine whether it was a great 
island, as many Indians affirmed, or an eastern projection of 
the continent of Asia, as he himself believed. After sailing 
westward from Cape Maisi about three hundred leagues, accord- 
ing to his computations, Columbus had his notary draw up an 
Acta, in which every man and boy aboard the three ships 
declared under oath, and before witnesses, that Cuba was 
indeed a part of the continent of Asia. This curious document 
has been preserved, and begins as follows: 

"On board the caravel 'Nina,' which is also called th^'Santa 
Clara,' Thursday, the 12th of June, in the year of Our Lord's 
Birth 1494, the most noble Sefior Don Christopher Columbus, 
High Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Perpetual Gov- 
ernor of the Island of San Salvador and of all the other 
islands and mainland of the Indies, discovered or to be discov- 
ered, etc., etc., demanded of me, Fernando Perez de Luna, one 
of the notaries public of the city of Isabella, on behalf of their 
Majesties," etc. 

In July, 1898, a Spanish cruiser named Cristobal Colon fled 
westward along this same coast, pursued by the warships of a 
power destined to drive Spain from this island, her last foot- 
hold in the New World. 

The Admiral even thought of continuing his course to the 
west and circumnavigating the globe by doubling the Golden 
Chersonesus, crossing the Gulf of Ganges, and by a new route, 
either around Africa or going up the Red Sea and so overland 
to Joppa and Jerusalen, reach Spain. 

On this voyage Columbus discovered Jamaica, which he 
named Santiago; and returned to Isabella by the south coast 
of Haiti. At every port he entered the natives told of a much 
grander land to the south and west, abounding in gold and pearls. 

Intending to complete his investigation of the Caribbee 
Islands, Columbus left Cape Engano, the east point of Haiti, 
and steered to the southeast. After touching at the island of 
Mona, the Admiral suddenly fell into a deep coma, with loss 
of all his senses and faculties, resembling death itself. The 
masters and pilots, much alarmed, turned their vessels about 

seventy-three 



SECOND VOYAGE OF 

and hurried to Isabella, which place they reached on the 29th 
of September. 

Columbus remains in a stupor for several days, and when he 
regains consciousness it is to gaze upon the face of his beloved 
brother Bartholomew, who had recently come to Hispaniola in 
charge of three caravels. During the absence of the Viceroy, 
Margarite and Fray Boil had fomented trouble and rebellion 
under the weak administration of Don Diego, which ended by 
them and the malcontents seizing two of the vessels brought 
out by Don Bartolome, and sailing away to Spain to lay their 
complaints before their Majesties. 

Torres, who had just brought out four ship-loads of supplies, 
returns to Spain; and Diego Colon is sent along to help settle 
the division of the world between Spain and Portugal. There 
being so little gold to satisfy the greed of the home govern- 
ment, the Admiral fills the ships with what he knows will be 
equally acceptable, viz., five hundred captive Indians consigned 
to the Bishop, Juan de Fonseca, to be sold as slaves in the mar- 
kets of Cadiz and Seville. Many writers hold up their hands 
in holy horror at this procedure of Columbus ; but his action 
was commonplace and in accord with the Christian as well as 
pagan customs of the day. From time immemorial it has been 
the practice of man to torture and kill his captive, to hold him 
for ransom, to keep him in bondage, or to eat him. Two hun- 
dred and fifty years later, in the New World, the White Man, 
in the name of Christ and Justice, burnt his own people accused 
of being infidels or witches ; and three hundred and fifty years 
later, human beings were still being held in slavery all over 
the Americas. 

Isabella's character is one of the few bright spots in the 
dark picture of Spanish discovery and conquest; but the fine 
phrases of indignation, credited to her by partial and senti- 
mental historians, come with ill grace from a Queen who per- 
mitted her subjects to deal in Guinea negroes and Canary 
Islanders, who had driven the Jewish people from their homes 
in Spain, and who, at that time, held and sold as slaves thou- 
sands of Moorish men, women, and children. As for the 
unctuous and grasping Ferdinand, no one would ever accuse 
him of allowing feeling or sentiment to stand between him and 
the prospect of turning an honest penny by traffic in human 
souls. 

Columbus made Bartholomew Adelantado, or lieutenant- 
governor, and his good sense and force of character greatly 
assisted his brother in controlling the unruly subjects in the 
colony. 

seventy-four 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

The Indians had been so badly treated and outraged by 
roaming bands of soldiers, that the warlike Caonabo collected 
his people and openly attacked St. Thomas. Had it not been 
for the treachery or loyalty (as you choose to view it) of 
Guacanagari, who refused to league with the other caciques, 
it is probable that the Spaniards would have been exterminated. 
This effeminate chieftain warned Columbus of the upjising, and 
hastened the inevitable doom of his race. Ojeda, with but 
nine horsemen, puts a pair of shining handcuffs on Caonabo 
and carries that gallant cacique off behind him on the back of 
his horse to Isabella ; and Columbus invades the Vega Real with 
two hundred foot, twenty horse, and twenty bloodhounds, and 
puts to flight an army of Indians estimated by some of the 
Spaniards to be more than one hundred thousand. 

As an evidence of their subjection, and to raise a revenue for 
the colony, Columbus imposed a head tax upon the natives. 
Every Indian, male and female, between the ages of fourteen 
and forty years, was tagged with a metal check, and required 
to furnish their masters, every three months, with a Flemish 
hawk's-bell full of gold, or an arroba (twenty-five pounds) of 
cotton. 

At this time, Juan Aguado is sent out to partly supersede the 
Viceroy ; and soon after, both men sail to Spain to settle their 
differences at Court. The Admiral, on the Nina, reached Cadiz 
on the nth of June, 1496, after a tedious and perilous voyage, 
during which that stout-hearted savage, Caonabo, had died. 

From here, Columbus sent dispatches by Pedro Alonso Nino, 
who was just starting out for Hispaniola, to his brother Bar- 
tholomew, directing him to begin a settlement on the south 
coast of the island, near some mines on the river Hayna, dis- 
closed by a caciquess to her lover, Miguel Diaz. 

Previous to this, on April 10, 1495, a royal proclamation had 
been issued, in violation of the rights of Columbus, giving 
Spaniards permission to settle in Hispaniola, and permitting 
private voyages of discovery. On the remonstrance of the 
Admiral, this was rescinded in so far as it was prejudicial to 
him; and, in addition, all his former titles and grants were 
confirmed. Before again sailing for the Indies, the Admiral 
made a deed of entail and will, in which he indicated the line 
of succession in his family; and directed the distribution of 
the vast revenues he expected his grants to produce. 

During the next year, Ferdinand and Isabella were busily 
engaged in the business and functions attending the marriage 
of Prince Juan and Princess Juana with scions of the house 

seventy-five 



SBCOND VOYAGE OF 

of Austria; and shortly afterwards the Crown Prince, the 
only son, died; so it was not until the year 1498 that ships, 
men, and supplies could be furnished their Admiral of the 
Ocean Sea for another voyage to the Indies. 

"It will not be out of place to relate what I heard happened in Spain 
to Columbus, after he had discovered the Indies; although it had been 
done in ancient times in other ways, but was new then. Columbus 
being at a party with many noble Spaniards, where, as was customary, 
the subject of conversation was the Indies, one of them undertook to 
say : 'Mr. Christopher, even if you had not found the Indies, we should 
not have been devoid of a man who would have attempted the same that 
you did, here in our own country of Spain, as it is full of great men 
clever in cosmography and literature.' Columbus said nothing in 
answer to these words, but having desired an egg to be brought to him, 
he placed it on the table, saying: 'Gentlemen, I will lay a wager with 
any of you, that you will not make this egg stand up as I will, naked 
and without anything at all.' They all tried, and no one succeeded in 
making it stand up. When the egg came round to the hands of Colum- 
bus, by beating it down on the table he fixed it, having thus crushed 
a little of one end; wherefore all remained confused, understanding 
what he would have said : that after the deed is done, everybody knows 
how to do it; that they ought first to have sought for the Indies, and 
not laugh at him who had sought for it first, while they for some time 
had been laughing, and wondered at it as an impossibility." — La Historia 
del Mondo Nvovo — 1565. 



seventy-six 



CHAPTER V 



THIRD VOYAGE 

OF 

COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

1498 
Discovery of the Mainland 

"Chains for the Admiral of the Ocean ! Chains 
For him who gave a new heaven, a new earth. 
As holy John had prophesied of me, 
Gave glory and more empire to the Kings 
Of Spain than all their battles ! Chains for him 
Who push'd his prows into the setting sun. 
And made West East, and sail'd the Dragon's Mouth, 
And came upon the Mountains of the World, 
And saw the rivers roll from Paradise !" 

Alfred Tennyson. 

, N Wednesday, the 30th of May, 1498, Columbus 
sailed from the port of San Liicar de Barra- 
meda, near Cadiz, on his third venture into the 
western ocean. He landed at Porto Santo, the 
Madeira, and at Gomera, in the Canaries. 
Columbus left here on the 21st of June, and 
when off Ferro, he divided his fleet, sending 
three vessels, under Carvajal, Arafia, and 
Colombo, with supplies for the new town 
which the Adelantado had started on the 
southern shore of Hispaniola. The Admiral 
himself, with the three smaller craft, turned to 
the southward, and arrived at the Cape Verde Islands on the 
27th, where he supplied himself with fresh water and goat's 
meat. He left here on the 4th of July, and steered to the 
southwest. It was the Admiral's plan on this voyage to take 
a more southerly course than formerly, and seek the equatorial 
regions to the south of Hispaniola and Cuba, where he expected 
to find the islands or land which the Indians told him lay in 
that direction. Moreover, he believed, with Jayme Ferrer, the 
learned jeweler, that the nearer one approached the equator the 
blacker became the people, and the more abundant the gold, 
pearls, precious stones, drugs, and spices. 

On July 1 2th the squadron was in latitude 5° north, when the 
wind ceased and the heat became intolerable. The seams of the 
ships opened and tar dripped from the rigging. The meat and 

seventy-seven 




THIRD VOYAGE OF 

wheat, in the hold, spoilt; and the water-butts and wine-casks 
burst their hoops. The sailors lost strength and spirits, and 
their commander suffered from fever and his old malady, the 
gout. The horrors formerly suffered by sailing vessels when 
caught in the "doldrums," the region of calms near the Equator, 
are now nearly eliminated by the general use of steamers. 

On the 20th a breeze springs up; and on the 22d birds are 
seen flying towards the northwest. It was the custom of 
Columbus, when engaging in an undertaking, to invoke the aid 
of the Holy Trinity; and when starting out on this voyage he 
vowed to name the first land discovered after the sacred Triad. 
On the 31st of July, 1498, as if in response to this vow, the 
triple peaks of a mountain are seen in the west, by Alonzo 
Perez, who happens to climb up into the crow's-nest. "It has 
pleased Our Lord," writes Columbus, "for His divine glory, 
that the first sight was three mogotes, all united ; I should say 
three mountains, all at one time and in one view." The 
Admiral calls the distant land Trinidad; and all join in chanting 
the "Salve Regina" and other pious couplets. 

The ships approached Trinidad at its southeastern corner, 
now called Point Galeota; after doubling which, they sailed 
westward along the south coast. The next day, August i, 1498, 
Columbus saw land to the south, his first sight of the continent 
of America, and, believing it an island, he names it La Isla 
Santa (Sancta), or Holy Island. The Admiral passed around 
the projecting tongue of land on the southwest point of Trini- 
dad by a turbulent channel, between it and Isla Santa, which 
he called Boca del Serpiente (the Serpent's Mouth). While 
anchored here at night his vessels are nearly swamped by a 
giant wave, or bore, the dreaded pororoca of the Orinoco river. 
Once inside Point Icacos, Columbus found himself in an 
immense body of water, as quiet as a pond, and sweet to the 
taste. 

To the north of the lowlands of Isla Santa (really the delta 
of the Orinoco) was a range of mountains, seemingly on a 
third island, to which the Admiral gave the name Isla de 
Gracia (Island of Grace, or Mercy). The Indians on the latter 
were taller, fairer, and more intelligent than any yet encoun- 
tered in the Indies. They called their land Paria. a name yet 
preserved in designating the cape and gulf on the northeast 
comer of Venezuela, opposite the island of Trinidad. Colum- 
bus, however, called the gulf Golfo de las Perlas, on account of 
the many pearls collected from the Indians ; and confirmed the 
statement by Pliny, that oysters generate pearls from dewdrops, 

seventy-eight 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

when he beheld, at low tide, oysters clinging to the mangrove 
bushes, with their mouths open to receive the falling dew. The 
good Bishop Las Casas, who came here later, is more accurate 
in his observation, for he notes that these oysters living in 
shallow waters do not produce pearls, but that the pearl 
oysters, "by a natural instinct, as if conscious of their precious 
charge, hide themselves in the deepest waters." 

The Admiral spent two pleasant weeks about the gulf in 
friendly intercourse with the natives of Trinidad and Paria. 
Besides pearls, they wore ornaments of guanin, an alloy of 
gold, silver, and copper. Columbus found deer and numerous 
monkeys, the first seen in the New World; and is surprised 
to find the temperature much lower than in the same latitude 
on the coast of Africa. Vainly seeking an exit on the western 
side of the gulf, he is met everywhere by rivers of fresh water 
and shallow soundings, and is compelled to turn back and risk 
passage to the north through the rushing currents of the Boca 
del Drago, or Dragon's Mouth. The attempt is made, by 
moonlight, on the night of August 13th, and is successful, 
though the Admiral commits one of his rare errors of seaman- 
ship when he lets go his anchors on encountering a great wave, 
similar to the one met in the Serpent's Mouth. 

Safely in the Caribbean Sea, Columbus descries two islands 
faintly perceptible in the northeast, probably Tobaga and 
Granada, but is satisfied to name them Asuncion and Concep- 
cion, and steers west along the north coast of Paria for about 
one hundred and fifty miles, when he became convinced from 
its extent and particularly from the mighty volumes of fresh 
water flowing into the Gulf of Paria that it was not an island, 
but "Terra Firma, of vast extent, of which until this day 
nothing has been known." 

Near the shore are a number of islands, at the largest of 
which he collects three pounds of pearls from the Indians, and 
calls it Margarita — the Pearl. Near by are Cubagua and Cache, 
and to seaward of Margarita are La Blanquilla and Los Testi- 
gos. The Admiral called this region Costa de las Perlas,^ and 
the islands soon became famous as the Pearl Islands. Ojeda, 
who robbed the natives later, started a settlement on Cubagua,, 
which he named New Cadiz, but it was afterwards abandoned. 

For some time Columbus had been suffering with fever and 
inflammation of the eyes, and gave his orders from a couch on 
deck. While ruminating over the strange phenomena he had 
observed, of which Marco Polo said nothing, and which neither 
the Ancient Philosophers nor the Holy Fathers could explain, 

seventy-nine 



THIRD VOYAGE OF 

his disordered and fevered fifteenth-century brain conceived 
that he now was near the apex of the earth, upon which was 
situated the Earthly Paradise, which none could enter except 
by Divine permission ; that in this Eden was the Tree of Life, 
and from it issued the rivers of fresh water, which we now 
know as the mouths of the Orinoco. He was willing to concede 
that the Eastern hemisphere was perfectly round, as Ptolemy 
and others proved by the eclipses of the moon, "but this western 
half of the world, I maintain, is like the half of a very round 
pear, having a raised projection for the stalk, as I have already 
described, or like a woman's nipple on a very round ball." 

On the morning of the i6th of August, the Admiral sailed 
out of the bay of Cumana, opposite the island of Margarita, 
and steered northwest for Santo Domingo (then called Nueva 
Isabella), the new town established by Don Bartolome in 1496, 
on the south coast of Hispaniola, at the mouth of the Ozama 
river. Columbus had noted, on leaving the Dragon's Mouth, 
that a current set strongly to the west, but on turning from the 
coast he failed to allow for this drift, and found himself, on 
the evening of the 19th, off the island of Beata, fifty leagues 
west of the new capital of the Indies. Here he was joined by 
his brother Bartholomew, and together they arrived at Santo 
Domingo, August 30, 1498. 

During the two years absence of the Viceroy, the thriftless 
and vicious Spaniards, who constituted a majority of the 
colonists, tired of robbing and maltreating the Indians, and 
rebelled against the rule of Columbus and his brothers. They 
were headed by Francisco Roldan, the alcalde mayor, or chief 
judge of the island, who, like the other Spaniards, did not 
relish the honors and authority conferred upon these foreigners. 
At the same time the enemies of Columbus in Spain — and they 
appear to have been numerous — aided and encouraged by 
Bishop Fonseca, who was in charge of all business relating to 
the Indies — besieged the Court with slanders and charges 
against him ; and the King and Queen decided to send out 
Francisco de Bobadilla, commander of the military and religious 
order of Calatrava, to inquire into affairs on Hispaniola; and, 
if necessary, relieve Columbus of command. 

After weary months of humiliating negotiations with Roldan, 
and the hanging of Moxica and several other renegades, the 
Viceroy succeeds in suppressing the revolt ; but no sooner are 
things again peaceful and promising than Bobadilla arrives, and 
with as little sense as decency, places Columbus and his brothers 
in irons. Las Casas tells us that the shackles were put on the 

eighty 



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BARBUDA 
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GUADELOUPE 
DOMINICA 

MARTINIQUEtL 
ST. LUCIA 
ST. VINCENT^ 



Cb 




COLUMBUS TO AMBRICA 

Admiral uy one of his own servants, "a graceless and shameless 
cook. I knew the fellow, and I think his name was Espinosa." 
The first, and perhaps the greatest, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, 
the man who widened the intellectual as well as the physical 
world for mankind, and who had given an empire to the little 
kingdoms of Castile and Leon, was carried to Spain in chains. 

During the voyage, or directly upon reaching Spain, Colum- 
bus wrote a beautiful letter to Dona Juana de la Torres, who 
had been aya or governess to the Infante, Prince Juan, and who 
was on intimate terms with Queen Isabella, giving a simple 
narrative of events on Hispaniola, and the wrongs he had 
sufifered. It is one of the sanest documents he ever penned — 
nothing about Marco Polo, the Cham of Tartary, or a terres- 
trial Eden ; and no golden promises impossible to fulfill. The 
Admiral arrived at Cadiz November 25, 1500, and this letter, 
probably with the connivance of Vallejo, was forwarded to 
Dona Juana, then with the Court at Granada, before the 
dispatches of Bobadilla ; and in a short time Columbus and his 
brothers were released from arrest. 

Ferdinand and Isabella were sorry for the way in which 
Columbus had been treated by Bobadilla, and renewed the 
assurance of their high appreciation and regard — ^but were 
careful not to restore him to his viceroyalty, or to revoke the 
general license, of 1495, permitting other navigators to explore 
and barter in the West Indies. Under this license, during 1499 
and 1500, Alonso de Ojeda, with Amerigo Vespucci and Juan 
de la Cosa ; Pedro Alonso Nifio, with Cristoval Guerra ; Vicente 
Yanez Pinzon, and Diego de Lepe, had followed the course laid 
down by the Admiral to Paria, and had discovered the coasts 
of Brazil, and Venezuela, westward of the island of Margarita; 
all returning to Spain with pearls or slaves. In October, 1500, 
just preceding the return of Columbus, Rodrigo de Bastidas had 
set sail for the Pearl Coast, with Juan de la Cosa as pilot, and 
having on board a bright young man by the name of Vasco 
Nunez de Balboa. 

Nor was Spain the only nation engaged in making voyages 
into unknown seas. The English Court, which had favored the 
initial voyage of Columbus, and pronounced his Discovery 
more divine than human, sent out John Cabot and his son 
Sebastian, in 1497, who returned in three months and reported 
finding land in the west; which probably was Labrador. In 
1498, Sebastian Cabot again sailed to the west for Henry VII, 
and followed the shores of a continent south to near the latitude 
of Cuba. 

eighty-one 



THIRD VOYAGB OF 

But most important of all was the voyage of Vasco da Gama, 
who sailed from Portugal in 1497, doubled the Cape of Good 
Hope, and reached Calicut on the Malabar coast of Hindustan. 
By sailing to the east, around Africa, Gama had found the 
Spice Islands and people so long sought by Columbus in the 
west. King Emanuel of Portugal sent Pedro Alvarez de 
Cabral, in 1500, with a fleet, to follow up the work of Gama 
and start a Poituguese colony in India. Cabral had just sent 
back the intelligence, by one of his ships, that he had found 
land southwest of Cape de Verd Islands, lying east of the 
Pope's Line. This land was Brazil, which had been discovered 
two months before, January 20, 1500, by Pinzon ; but the Pope's 
ruling, and a subsequent treaty between Spain and Portugal, 
gave the region to the latter. 

These expeditions, particularly the return of Gama, in 1499, 
with the rich spoils of the East, tended to dim the fame of 
Columbus, and rob Spain of the wealth of India and Cathay. 
Accordingly, about the middle of 1501, the Admiral proposed 
another voyage to the King and Queen ; and they were only 
too ready to enter into any scheme that might thwart the 
encroachments of their rival, Portugal. 

In the meantime, Don Nicolas de Ovando, a militant priest 
of the Order of Alcantara, is made Governor and Jud^e of 
Hispaniola; and sails in great state, February 13, 1502, with 
thirty ships and twenty-five hundred people, to relieve the 
blundering Bobadilla, and establish the sovereignty of Spain 
more firmly in the West Indies. 

While awaiting the preparation of his own modest squadron, 
the unstable mind of Columbus wanders off into mystic medi- 
tations, and he writes a treatise on the fulfillment of prophe- 
cies. The manuscript of Los Lihros de las Profecias, though 
edited and commended by Fray Caspar Gorrico, and dedicated 
to their Most Catholic Majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella, still 
awaits a publisher. 

Copy of letter written to Nicolo Oderigo, at Genoa, by Christopher 
Columbus, concerning the bequests the latter had made to the Bank of 
St. George, in trust, to reduce the tax on corn, wine, and other pro- 
visions in his native city: 

"Virtuous Sir : 

"When I departed for the voyage from which I now come, I talked 
with you at length. I believe that you well remember all that was said 
then. I believed that on arriving I would find letters from you and a 
person with a message. Also at that time I left with Francisco de 
Ribarol a book of copies of letters and another book of my Privileges 
in a case of red Cordovan leather with a silver lock; and I left two 
letters for the Bank of St. George, to which I assigned the tenth of 

eighty-tivo 



COLUMBUS TO AMBRICA 

my revenue, for the reduction of taxes on wheat and other provisions. 
To nothing of this have I had any reply. Mr. Francisco says that 
ever3rthing reached there in safety. If there is discourtesy in the 
matter it was on the part of the gentlemen of St. George in not having 
replied, and their fortune is not increased thereby. And this is the 
reason for its being said that whoever serves all serves no one. 
Another book of my Privileges like the aforesaid I left in Cadiz with 
Franco Catonio, the bearer of this letter, that he might send it to you. 
Both were to be placed in safe-keeping wherever you might consider 
it best. I received a letter from the King and Queen my Lords, at 
the time of my departure. It is written there. Look at it and you 
will find it very good. Nevertheless Don Diego was not placed in 
possession according to the promise. 

"During the time I was in the Indies I wrote to their Highnesses 
about my voyage, by three or four different ways. One letter was 
returned to me, and sealed as it was I send it to you with this. In 
another letter I send you the supplement to the description of the 
voyage, for you to give it to Mr. Juan Luis, together with the other 
letter of information, and I have written him that you will be the 
reader and interpreter of the letters. I would like to receive letters 
from you and desire that they speak cautiously of the purpose to 
which we have agreed. 

"I arrived here very sick. At this time occurred the death of the 
Queen, my Lady, whom God has, without my seemg her. Up to the 
present I cannot tell you what will be the result of my achievements. 
I believe that her Highness will have provided well for me in her will 
and the King, my Lord, answers very well. 

"Franco Catonio will tell you the rest at length. May our Lord 
have you in His keeping. 

"From Seville, December 27, 1504. 

"The High Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceory and Governor-Gen- 
eral of the Indies, etc. 

.S. 
.S. A. S. 
_X M Y 
Xpo Ferens" 

[Showing the rubrica or peculiar signature of Columbus.] 



eighty-three 



CHAPTER VI 



FOURTH VOYAGE 
OF 

COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

1502 
Discovery of Central America and the Isthmus of Panama 



"Push off, and sitting well in order, smite 
The sounding furrows ; for my purpose holds 
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths 
Of all the Western stars, until I die." 

Alfred Tennyson. 

HE previous voyages of Columbus westward 
towards Asia were in search of land; his 
fourth and last voyage was undertaken to 
find a water passage, or strait, leading to the 
region of Cathay visited by Marco Polo; or 
which would pass south of Asia into the 
Indian Ocean. 

The Admiral had found two mainlands, 
as he thought. To the north was Cuba, 
which he believed to be a part of Mangi 
(Cochin China) ; in the south was Paria, 
with the Garden of Eden somewhere on its more elevated 
parts. Between these two Terrae Firmae was an unexplored 
region in which the two mainlands either joined, forming one 
immense continent; or, what was more probable, they were 
separated by a body of water. When Columbus left the 
south coast of Cuba, in 1494, at a point three hundred and 
thirty-five leagues west of Cape Maisi, the coast to the west- 
ward turned to the south. The shores of Paria and his Eden 
Terra Firma (South America), extended indefinitely towards 
the west. Along this coast was a strong current setting to the 
west, and the same drift was observed as far north as His- 
paniola. Besides, the lay of the islands was east and west, 
and the prevailing winds blew also in that direction. All these 
natural phenomena proved to the Admiral that the waters of 
the Western or Atlantic Ocean flowed through a strait between 
his two mainlands. 

eighty-five 




FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

This seems to be a point against the alleged voyage of 
Pinzon, Vespucci, Solis, and Ledesma, through the Yucatan 
Channel into the Gulf of Mexico and around Cuba, in 1497-8, 
which would have given Amerigo Vespucci a sight of the 
continent of America a year ahead of Columbus. If this 
voyage really occurred, and it was known that the westward- 
flowing currents of the Caribbean Sea found an outlet 
through the passage west of Cuba, a hundred miles in width, 
why did the Admiral dream of a strait to the southwest of 
Hispaniola, where the two continents would tend to approach 
each other ? Columbus located this strait at about the Isthmus 
of Panama, where it was found, later, that the waters of the 
western and eastern oceans almost mingled. His unbridled 
imagination again held sway, and he planned to sail around 
the Golden Chersonese (Malacca) to the Spice Islands and the 
mouth of the Ganges, cross the Indian Ocean, double the Cape 
of Good Hope, and so back to Spain. The conception and 
planning of a circumnavigating voyage in 1494, and again at 
this time, are sufificient in themselves to mark Columbus as a 
man of exceptional talent. 

With this end in view, he suppHed himself with credentials 
to the Asiatic rulers, and the Portuguese officials he might 
encounter; and carried interpreters familiar with Arabic. As 
a result of this voyage, the Admiral expected increased riches 
for himself and family, and renewed his promise to their 
Majesties and Pope Alexander VI to equip a force and restore 
the Holy Sepulchre to the Christians. 

Ferdinand and Isabella renewed their pledges to keep their 
contracts with Columbus, and the latter, before sailing, sent 
attested duplicates of all his grants and agreements to the 
Signory of his native city, Genoa, where they are still preserved. 

For this, the last venture of Columbus, four vessels were 
chartered, named the Capitana, Santiago de Palos, Gallego, and 
Viscaina, the largest of seventy tons, and the smallest of fifty 
tons burden. With these small vessels, more or less dilapidated, 
the Admiral proposed to sail around the world ; but, as we shall 
see later, within a little more than a year the worm-eaten hulks 
of his entire fleet were strewn about the shores of the Carib 
Sea. The crews, men and boys, numbered one hundred and 
forty-one; and the Admiral's staff raised the complement to 
about one hundred and fifty souls. They were provisioned 
for two years, and carried goods for barter with the Indians. 
It was fortunate that Columbus was able to induce his brother 
Bartholomew, somewhat against his will, to go along as captain 
of one of the caravels. 

eighty-six 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

The Admiral asked and received permission to take with him 
his second son, Fernando, then scarcely fourteen years of age. 
Fernando Colon was of a literary turn of mind, and in after 
years wrote the biography of his father, to which we are 
indebted for the best account of the last voyage of Columbus. 

The fleet sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May, 1502 ; and on 
the nth parted from St. Catherine and went to Arcila, a town 
on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, held by the Portuguese, and 
lately besieged by the Moors. The Admiral exchanged civilities 
with the wounded Governor, and was visited by some kinsmen 
of his dead wife, Dona Felipa. The same day he left for the 
Canary Islands, which he reached on the 20th, where the ships 
were supplied with wood and water. The night of May 25, 
1502, the fleet set out for the Indies ; on the 26th passed Ferro, 
and, "without handling the sails," was borne speedily by the 
trade-winds to the Caribbee Islands, arriving at Matinino on 
Wednesday, the 15th of June. Matinino was the "Island of 
Amazons," and is generally believed to be Martinique, the birth- 
place of the Empress Josephine, and the site of the volcanic 
eruption which destroyed St. Pierre. Here Columbus secured 
fresh water and wood, and made the men wash their clothes. 
On Saturday he resumed the voyage, passing Dominica, Santa 
Cruz, and the other islands ; till, on the 24th, the fleet was sail- 
ing along the south side of San Juan de Puerto Rico. 

"Thence we took the way for San Domingo, the Admiral 
having a mind to exchange one of his ships for another, because 
it was a bad sailer, and, besides, could carry no sail, but the side 
would lie almost under water, which was a hindrance to his 
voyage, because his design was to have gone directly upon the 
coast of Paria and keep along that shore till he came upon the 
strait, which he certainly concluded was about Veragua and 
Nombre de Dios. But, seeing the fault of the ship, he was 
forced to repair to San Domingo to change it for a better." 

Columbus arrived off the mouth of the Ozama on the 29th 
of June, but did not enter the harbor, as he had been forbidden 
by the King to stop there; but from a little bay farther west 
he sent Pedro de Terreros, captain of the Gallego, to Governor 
Ovando to seek an exchange for his unseaworthy craft, or to 
purchase a new one. Ovando declined to aid Columbus, and 
likewise refused his request to shelter his caravels in the river 
from an impending storm. The large fleet brought out by the 
new Governor was just about to set sail for Spain, and the 
Admiral sent a second message to Ovando entreating him not 
to permit the fleet to leave the harbor under eight days. The 

eighty-seven 



FOURTH VOYAGE OP 

warnings of the old Admiral were received with derision by the 
Governor and his pilots, and the big fleet stood bravely out to 
sea on its homeward journey. When barely clear of the island 
it was overtaken by a typical West Indian hurricane, and more 
than twenty of the ships foundered off the southeast end of 
Hispaniola, near the islet of Saona. Among those who per- 
ished were Bobadilla, Roldan, and other enemies of Columbus ; 
Guarionex, cacique of the Vega Real ; and many prisoners, both 
Indian and Spanish ; besides 200,000 castellanos in gold, includ- 
ing the largest nugget ever found on Hispaniola, A few 
vessels* managed to get back to Santo Domingo, and only one, 
La Aguja, proceeded on to Spain. This was the worst ship 
in the fleet, and on it were four thousand pesos in gold and 
other goods belonging to the Admiral, collected by his agent, 
Carvajal. 

Fernando Colon says that his father was much vexed "to 
behold the baseness and ingratitude used towards him in that 
country he had given to the honor and benefit of Spain, being 
refused to shelter his life in it." Three of the Admiral's vessels 
were driven from the shelter he had sought, and each thought 
the others lost ; but all came together again at Azua, about sixty 
miles west of Santo Domingo, on the Sunday following. 
Each gave an account of his misfortunes, when it appeared 
that Bartolome Colon, on the Bermuda^ "had weathered so 
great a storm by flying from land like an able sailor, and that 
the Admiral was out of danger by lying close to the shore, like 
a cunning astrologer, who knew whence the danger must come." 
The common Spaniards held that Columbus had used "art 
magic" to overthrow his enemies ; Las Casas considered the 
tempest a Divine judgment; and Columbus believed that he 
had been preserved by the Lord for still other accomplishments. 

The Admiral remained in Azua, or Puerto Hermoso, long 
enough for his men to rest and repair damages to the caravels. 

^ On one of the vessels escaping the storm was Rodrigo de Bastidas, 
arrested by Bobadilla, and being carried to Spain for trial. 

^ The name "Bermuda," as one of the ships, is used only by 
Fernando Colon, and does not appear in the official list given at the end 
of this chapter. Several conjectures are allowable: In spite of the 
opposition of Ovando, Columbus may have succeeded in exchanging for 
another vessel at Santo Domingo; or, the "Santiago" may have been 
so-called after the master, Francisco Bermudez; or, Bermuda may have 
been the name of the Capitana, which means simply the flagship. The 
Admiral was getting old, and in bad health, and may have changed his 
flag from a rough sailer to a smoother ship ; assigning his skillful 
brother to command the poor sailer. 

eighty-eight 



COLUMBUS TO AMBRICA 

When at leisure they went fishing, and one day caught a man- 
atee, or sea-calf. Columbus then went to sea again, and laid 
his course for Jamaica; but ran into another storm, and put 
into the port of Brazil, now Jacmel, Haiti. On the 14th of 
July he made another start, and two days later arrived at the 
Pozas or Morant keys, off the Jamaican coast, where he col- 
lected water from puddles {pozas) made in the sand. 

The Admiral then steered west-southwest in the direction of 
the supposed strait, but the wind was so light and the currents 
so strong that, on the 24th, he found himself again among the 
Queen's Gardens, along the southern shore of Cuba. Believ- 
ing, as he did, that the south coast of Cuba continued in a 
southerly direction, Columbus now headed south-southwest; 
and, on July 30, 1502, reached an inhabited island called 
Guanaja. This is now known as Bonacao, or Bonacca, one of 
the bay islands lying north of Truxillo, Honduras. 

Don Bartolome landed on Guanaja, and interviewed the 
Indians, whose chief was named Imibe. They had very low 
foreheads, but differed but little from the other natives already 
encountered. 

On the way back to the ships, two canoes are seen coming 
along the island from the west, which are captured without 
resistance and brought to the flagship. One canoe is eight feet 
wide, and as long as a galley. It was propelled by a score of 
paddlers, and in the stern, beneath a neatly thatched canopy, sat 
the cacique, surrounded by his females and children. He 
seemed to be on a trading voyage, for the canoe was loaded 
with many articles, all strange to the Spaniards. There were 
cotton cloaks and tunics finely worked and dyed ; hatchets, 
cups, and bells made of copper; crucibles for melting metals; 
knives chipped from obsidian; wooden swords, edged with 
sharp flints; and vessels of stone, clay, and wood. They car- 
ried bread made from roots and maize, and a beer concocted 
from the latter; also a store of cacao (chocolate) beans, for 
food and money, which the Spaniards thought were a new 
variety of almond. 

It was obvious at a glance that here was a superior race, 
much in advance of the Indians of Cuba, Hispaniola, and 
Paria. Both men and women wore clothes, and were modest 
in demeanor. Fernando Colon says that the females covered 
their bodies and faces as completely as the Moorish women of 
Granada. Columbus thought that at last he was nearing the 
precincts of the Grand Khan. 

By the use of signs and the Haitian dialect, the Spaniards 

eighty-nine 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

understood that these people came from a country nine days' 
journey to the west, called Ciguare, where gold, coral, pearls, 
and spices abounded. The King possessed ships, cannon, and 
animals, which were believed to be horses. Ciguare was on 
another ocean, and ten days beyond was a river called the 
Ganges — so it was understood. 

"This moved the Admiral to use them well, to restore their 
canoe, and give them some things in exchange for those that 
had been taken from them. Nor did he keep any one of them, 
but an old man, whose name was Giumba, who seemed to be 
the wisest and chief of them, to learn something of him con- 
cerning the country, and that he might draw others to converse 
with the Christians, which he did very readily and faithfully 
all the while we sailed where his language was understood. 
Therefore, as a reward for his services, when we came where 
he was not understood, the Admiral gave him some things, and 
sent him home very well pleased." 

From Guana j a, Columbus sailed toward land faintly visible 
in the south, about forty miles away, and found a cape, which 
he christened Caxinas. This is now known as Cape Honduras, 
and was a turning point not only in the voyage, but also in the 
destiny of Columbus. From here the land extended east and 
west, and when the old Indian was asked where the gold came 
from, he pointed to the east, and thereby saved his country, 
Yucatan, from the Spaniards until 15 17, when it was discovered 
by Francisco Hernandez de Cordova, under the pilotage of 
Antonio de Alaminos, who was with Columbus on this voyage. 
Cordova was followed the next year by Grijalva, who went to 
Tabasco and San Juan de UUoa (Vera Cruz) ; and, in 1519, 
Hernando Cortes landed at the latter place and began the con- 
quest of Mexico. The nearest Columbus came to a culture- 
stage approximating that of the Grand Khan was his sight of 
the canoe-load of Mayan products at Guanaja. 

As another reason for turning eastward, advocates of the 
alleged Pinzon-Vespucci-Solis-Ledesma voyage of 1497 claim 
that the Admiral knew, at this time, that Cuba was an island ; 
and that Ledesma, who was now with Columbus, assured him 
there was no strait to the west. Inasmuch as both Pinzon and 
Ledesma testified, in 15 13, in the lawsuit of Diego Colon 
against the Crown, that they entered the Gulf of Mexico after 
the Admiral's search for a strait, I shall continue to think that 
Columbus believed Point Caxinas to be continuous on the west 
with the south coast of Cuba, and that only to the eastward 
could a passage exist. 

ninety 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

Anyhow, Columbus followed the coast to the east, which 
seemed like turning back to the Caribbee Islands, on the route 
to Spain. He met a storm, and sheltered his ships for a few 
days behind Point Caxinas. The natives were friendly, and on 
Sunday, the 14th of August, the padre and crews held mass 
on shore. The Indians called their country Maia, and on the 
17th the Adelantado took possession for Spain, at a stream 
which he called the River of Possession, now known as Black 
river. Some of the natives wore cotton jackets and head- 
dress, and painted their bodies with the figures of animals in 
red or black. In this same region were Indians who made 
such large holes in the lobes of their ears that Columbus called 
that part La Costa de la Oreja (The Coast of the Ear). 

For seventy days the little fleet fought against head winds 
and contrary currents, and made only sixty leagues. During 
this time there was one continuation of rain, thunder, and 
lightning, and neither sun nor stars were seen. The vessels 
opened their seams, the sails were in rags, and anchors, rigging, 
boats, and provisions were lost. The Admiral fell ill, and the 
sailors meek and humble in spirit, so that they confessed 
their sins one to another. 

"Other tempests there have been, but none which lasted so 
long or caused such fear." 

On the 14th of September the ships rounded a narrow point, 
from which the land turned due south. This brought the wind 
on the quarter, and the weather improved; in gratitude of 
which, Columbus named the cape Gracias a Dios (Thanks to 
God). By the i6th they had sailed sixty-two leagues in this 
direction; when, being in need of wood and water, the boats 
were sent up a deep river in search of them. On coming 
back, one of the boats was overturned while crossing the bar 
and the crew lost. This disaster led the Admiral to call the 
river Bl Rio del Desastre. 

Columbus continued to sail southward along the Mosquito 
coast of Nicaragua. On Sunday, the 25th of September, the 
fleet anchored by a little island near the mainland, opposite 
the mouth of a river, where was situated an Indian village 
called Cariari. The name of the island was Quiriviri; but, 
from the abundance of its fruits, the Admiral called it La 
Huerta, or the Orchard. Besides bananas and cocoanuts, there 
was a fragrant and luscious fruit which he mistook for the 
mirabolane of the East Indies. The main shore was cov- 
ered with beautiful forests extending back to cloud-capped 
mountains. 

ninety-one 



FOURTH VOYAGE OP 

The Indians gathered under arms, and made hostile demon- 
strations against the Spaniards ; but, soon seeing no harm was 
intended, they swam out to the ships and offered to barter 
cotton gowns and ornaments of guanin, or pale gold. Columbus 
gave them presents, but would not trade, hoping they would 
produce more valuable possessions. 

When the Spaniards made a landing, on the following 
Wednesday, they found all their gifts neatly tied up and lying 
on the beach. This was an intimation that they would receive 
nothing except in what they considered fair trade, and was an 
unusual exhibition of independence by such primitive people. 
To further propitiate the strangers, they sent two girls, of not 
too modest demeanor, to Columbus, who promptly clothed them 
in Castilian garments, and returned them to the shore. This 
won the confidence of the Indians, so that when the Adelantado 
went ashore the next day, two of their principal men waded out 
to his boat and carried him to land. When he questioned them, 
the notary, Diego de Porras, began to take notes, which so 
alarmed the Indians that they fled in terror, and only returned 
after burning a sweet-smelling powder and blowing the fumes 
over the white men, as if to nullify some evil spirit. 

These Indians were more advanced than those of Haiti and 
the other islands. Their houses were better constructed, and in 
some were seen the mummified corpses of chiefs and relatives. 
The women wore their hair short, but the men had long braids 
wound about the head. Both sexes wore some clothing, and 
ornaments of guanin, from mines in the interior. They stated 
that more gold was found in the country of Carabaru (or Cara- 
varo), adjoining them on the south. Columbus seized two men 
for guides, which the Indians vainly tried to redeem with two 
peccaries ; and, on October 5th, he left Cariari and sailed south- 
east along what is now called Costa Rica. The "crocodiles," 
monkeys, and shrubbery remind Columbus of descriptions of 
the East Indies by Pliny and Marco Polo, and he thinks he is 
approaching the Ganges. 

There is considerable similarity about scenes in the tropics, 
and at many ports in the Caribbean we find the mouth of a 
river, a small island near the shore, and the same green vege- 
tation the whole year round. Hence, it is not always easy to 
identify the places visited by Columbus and the early explorers. 
Most writers state that Bluefields, Nicaragua, corresponds to 
the Cariari of Columbus; while others say it was Greytown 
(San Juan del Norte). The Admiral and Fernando write that 
in one day's sail, of some twenty-two leagues, they arrived at 

ninety -two 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

the bay of Carambaru, easily identified as Almirante Bay, Pan- 
ama. Now, Bluefields is almost three degrees, and Greytown 
nearly two degrees of latitude from Almirante Bay; and the 
difference in longitude from both places is one degree and a 
half. In order to examine the coast, Columbus sailed only by 
day ; and if we consider the short Spanish league, the miserable 
condition of the caravels, and the constant complaints of head 
winds and currents, we are forced to locate Cariari much nearer 
to Almirante Bay than either Bluefields or Greytown. Reckon- 
ing the twenty-two leagues as about fifty-five miles, and remem- 
bering that the vessels were poor sailers against wind and tide, 
and that so good a seaman as was Columbus would sail cau- 
tiously through the islands about Almirante Bay and the 
Chiriqui Lagoon, the distance traveled by daylight would not 
be over sixty miles. This would place Cariari at Puerto Limon, 
Costa Rica, where are found a small island near the shore, a 
river, and mountains in the background. 

Columbus anchored in the bay still known by his rank of 
Admiral, and sent boats to the islands, where they obtained 
some ornaments, and heard of a much better place to trade, a 
few miles farther on. The same day the ships got under way 
and passed through a narrow channel to a larger bay to the 
south and east, which the Indians called Ahurena, now known 
as the Laguna de Chiriqui. Here the Spaniards found a pro- 
fusion of golden ornaments in the shape of eagles, frogs, tigers, 
and other animals, and also worn as coronets, armlets, and 
plates hung about the neck. These last Columbus calls espejos 
de oro, or golden mirrors, and were, no doubt, used as such. 
Many of these images have been recovered from the guacas, 
or old graves, and can be seen in our principal museums, 
together with stone implements and the beautiful pottery 
obtained from the same sources. The writer has several of 
these golden figures, which he secured when in this region. 
Pedro de Ledesma, a pilot with Columbus, states that eighty 
canoes gathered about the ships at one place, the occupants 
eager to exchange their gold for hawk-bells and needles. 

Most of this time the Admiral suffered from what has been 
called the gout, and directed his fleet from his couch. His 
brother Bartholomew, the Adelantado, and the captains visited 
the islands and the main shore, bartering with the natives. 
Repairs were made, and on one of the islands, yet known as 
Careening Cay, the ships were careened and cleaned. Colum- 
bus inquired about his strait, and the natives told of another 
sea on the south, and a "narrow place" leading to it. The 

mnety-three 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

Indians were perfectly honest, and meant to indicate that 
another great water (the Pacific Ocean) existed beyond a nar- 
row strip of land (the Isthmus of Panama). The mind of 
the Admiral is fixed on a strait, and he interprets the "narrow 
place" as water and not land ; the Strait of Malacca, which will 
carry him into the Indian Ocean. He understood that the 
strait was a little farther on, in the direction of regions called 
Veragua, and Cohija (Cubigd), where gold was even more plen- 
tiful than where they then were. 

On October 17, Columbus departed from Aburena (Chiriqui 
Lagoon), taking with him two of the natives as additional 
guides. He followed the coast toward Veragua, and found it 
turning now to the east. After sailing about twelve leagues, 
the fleet came to a river called Guaiga, where "the Admiral 
commanded the boats to go ashore, which as they were doing, 
they saw above a hundred Indians on the strand, who assaulted 
them furiously, running up to the middle into the water, 
brandishing their spears, blowing horns, and beating a drum in 
warlike manner, to defend their country, throwing the salt 
water towards the Christians, chewing herbs and spurting it 
towards them." Through the interpreters the Spaniards 
appeased the natives, and relieved them of sixteen gold plates 
they had about their necks, worth a hundred and fifty ducats. 
The next day, being Friday, the 19th of October, the boats went 
to land again to barter, and were received in the same hostile 
manner ; when, not wishing to be despised by the Indians, the 
Christians wounded one in the arm with an arrow, and fired a 
cannon, which so frightened them that they parted with three 
more golden plates. 

The Admiral was content to get samples of what these parts 
afforded, and proceeded on his quest of a pass. His next stop 
was in the mouth of a great river, called Catiba, where the war- 
riors assembled at the sound of conchs and tom-toms to repel 
the white men. Diplomacy again prevailed, and the Spaniards 
landed and found the King, "who differed in nothing from the 
rest but that he was covered with one leaf of a tree, because 
at that time it rained hard." Here they secured nineteen plates 
of pure gold. Fernando Colon further says : "This was the 
first place in the Indies where they saw any sign of a structure 
[masonry], which was a great mass of wall, or imagery, that 
to them seemed to be of lime and stone: the Admiral ordered 
a piece of it to be brought away as a memorial of that 
antiquity." 

The fleet continued eastward and came to Cohrava, and the 

ninety-four 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

wind being fresh, Columbus held on his course, "and went on 
to five towns of great trade, among which was Veragua, where 
the Indians said the gold was gathered, and the plates made." 

"The next day he came to a town, called Cubiga [or Cobija], 
where the Indians of Cariari said the trading country ended, 
which began at Carabora [Caravaro, or Almirante Bay], and 
ran as far as Cubiga, for fifty leagues along the coast." 

"The Admiral, without making any stay, went on till he 
put into Puerto Bello, giving it that name because it is large, 
beautiful, well peopled, and encompassed by a well-cultivated 
country. He entered this place on the 2d of November [1502], 
passing between two small islands, within which the ships may 
lie close to the shore, and turn it out if they have occasion. 
The country about that harbor, higher up, is not very rough, 
but tilled and full of houses, a stone's throw or a bow shot one 
from the other ; and it looks like the finest landscape a man 
can imagine. During seven days we continued there, on 
account of the rain and ill weather, there came continually 
canoes from all the country about to trade for provisions and 
bottoms of fine spun cotton, which they gave for some trifles, 
such as points and pins." 

"On Wednesday, the 9th of November, we sailed out of 
Porto Bello, eight leagues to the eastward; but the next day 
were forced back four leagues by stress of weather, and put 
in among the islands near the continent, where is now the 
town of Nombre de Dios ; and because all those small islands 
were full of grain, he called it Puerto de Bastimentos ; that is, 
the Port of Provisions." 

At this place a boat pursued a canoe full of Indians and failed 
to catch even one of them after they took to the water ; "or if 
it did happen to overtake one, he would dive like a duck, and 
come up again a bow shot or two from the place." 

Columbus remained at Bastimentos, mending his ships, until 
the 23d, when he sailed east to a place called Guaiga, "there 
being another of the same name between Veragua and 
Cerago." [Caravaro, or Almirante Bay]. Here were found 
three hundred Indians on the beach, "ready to trade for such 
provisions as they have, and some small things of gold they 
wore hanging at their ears and noses." The Admiral made no 
stay here, and Saturday, the 24th of November, on account of 
rough weather, put into a little cove, which he named Retrete, 
"that is, Retired Place, because it could not contain above five 
or six ships together, and the mouth of it was not above fifteen 
or twenty paces over, and on both sides of it rocks appearing 

ninety-five 



FOURTH VOYAGE OP 

above the water as sharp as diamonds, and the channel between 
them was so deep that they found no bottom." The fleet 
continued here during nine days of bad weather. The Indians 
were friendly, but the Christians stole away from the ships, 
and, "like covetous, dissolute men, committed a thousand inso- 
lences," which brought on some skirmishes between them. The 
vessels were so near the shore, and the natives so threatening, 
that Columbus ordered some cannon fired to terrify them ; but 
they had become skeptical of the heavenly origin of the white 
men, and answered with shouts and defiant gestures. "There- 
fore, to abate their pride, and make them not contemn the 
Christians, the Admiral caused a shot to be made at a company 
of them that was got together upon a hillock, and the ball falling 
in the midst of them, made them sensible there was a thunder- 
bolt, as well as thunder; so that for the future they durst not 
appear even behind the mountains." 

Perceiving he could make no progress against the violent east 
and northeast winds, the Admiral determined to run back to 
Veragua and investigate for himself the richness of the mines. 
On Monday, the 5th of December, he left Bl Retrete,^ and that 
night was back again at Puerto Bello, ten leagues to the west. 
The next day he continued his course; but, instead of being 
hurried along by the strong east winds which he had combatted 
for the last three months, he now faced gales from the west, 
which led Columbus to call this the Coast of Changing Winds — 
Costa de Contrastes. The Admiral, in his letter to the King 
and Queen, says: 

"For nine days I wandered as one lost, without hope of salva- 
tion. Never have eyes seen the sea so high and ugly, or so 
much foam. The wind was not available for making headway, 
and did not permit us to run for any shelter. There I was, held 
in that sea turned into blood and seething like a cauldron upon 
a huge fire. So awesome a sky was never seen ; for a day and 
a night it blazed like a furnace, vomiting forth sheets and bolts 
of lightning, until, after each one, I looked to see whether it had 
not carried away my masts and sails. With such frightful fury 
they fell upon us that we all believed the ships would founder. 
During the whole time the water never ceased falling from the 
skies; not in what would be called rain, but rather as though 
another Deluge were upon us. My people were already so 

^ Puerto del Retrete, afterwards called Escribanos, was the Port 
Scrivan of English writers of buccaneer history. This description by- 
Fernando Colon tallies with that by Lionel Wafer, surgeon of the 
Buccaneers. 

ninety-six 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

worn out that they courted death, to be free from such con- 
tinued martyrdom. The ships, for the second time, lost boats, 
anchors, cables, and sails, and were leaking. When it was our 
Lord's pleasure, I sought Puerto Gordo, and there repaired as 
well as I could." 

His son Fernando, who was with him, graphically describes 
the dangers of the sea when he writes : "For in such dreadful 
storms, they dread the fire in flashes of lightning, the air for 
its fury, the water for the terrible waves, and the earth for the 
hidden rocks and sands which sometimes a man meets with near 
the port where he hoped for safety, and not knowing them, 
chooses rather to contend with the other elements in whom he 
has less share." 

Don Fernando further relates that on Tuesday, the 13th of 
December, they were in danger of a water-spout, but dissolved 
it by saying the Gospel of St. John. That same night they lost 
sight of the Biscaina, and did not see her again for three dread- 
ful days. A day's calm gave the men a little rest, but brought 
multitudes of sharks, dreadful to behold, especially for the 
superstitious. Nevertheless, they catch some, and are glad to 
eat the meat, instead of the mouldy biscuits infested with 
maggots. Many of the seamen waited till night to eat their 
pottage that they might not see the maggots ; "and others were 
so used to eat them that they did not mind to throw them away 
when they saw them, because they might lose their supper if 
they were so very curious." 

Father and son call the same place by different names. The 
Admiral generally uses the name he gave the port, and Fer- 
nando cites the Indian designation, which, with erroneous dates, 
cause some confusion between the two accounts. The Puerto 
Gordo of Columbus is usually stated to be Puerto Bello ; but I 
figure it to be our Limon (Colon) Bay, three leagues east of 
Pennon, which I identify with the mouth of the Chagres river. 

Fernando Colon calls Puerto Gordo, Huiva, and this is what 
he says about it: "Upon Saturday, the 17th, the Admiral put 
into a port three leagues east of Pennon, which the Indians 
called Huiva. It was like a great bay, where we rested three 
days, and going ashore, saw the inhabitants dwell upon the tops 
of trees, like birds, laying sticks across from bough to bough, 
and building huts upon them rather than houses. Though we 
knew not the reason of this strange custom, yet we guessed it 
was done for fear of the griffins there are in that country, or 
of enemies ; for all along that coast the people at every league 
distance are great enemies to one another." 

ninet'^-seven 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

The fleet sailed from Huiva on the 20th, and immediately 
encountered another tempest, which drove them into "another 
port," whence they departed again the third day. Contrary 
winds again drove them back and forth between Pennon and 
Veragua, and "not daring to encounter the opposition of 
Saturn," as indicated by the almanac, the Admiral put into "that 
port where we had been before on Thursday, the 12th of the 
same month." Columbus writes : "This was on Christmas 
day, about the hour of mass," 

Writers commonly say that the Admiral again sought shelter 
in Puerto Bello, but I believe this port was the Pennon of Don 
Fernando, which I reckon to be the mouth of the Chagres. 
Here the Spaniards spent the last of the old and the first of 
the new year. They repaired the ship called Gallega, and took 
aboard abundance of Indian wheat (maize), water and wood. 
On the 3d of January, 1503, they made another start for 
Veragua. 

"Upon Thursday, being the Feast of the Epiphany,* we cast 
anchor near a river which the Indians call Yehra [also written 
Hiebra], and the Admiral named Belem, or Bethlem, because 
we came to that place upon the feast of the three Kings. He 
caused the mouth of that river, and of another westward, to be 
sounded; the latter the Indians call Veragua, where he found 
but shoal water, and in that of Belem four fathom at high 
water." On the bar of the Rio Belen, however, there were but 
ten palms (eighty-inches) of water; but the two smaller cara- 
vels, the flagship, and the Biscaina, manage to cross it, and 
enter the river on January 9th ; followed the next day, at high 
tide, by the other two vessels. This was fortunate, as it again 
turned stormy ; which would have prevented crossing the bar. 

A short distance within the river was a village, the Indians 
of which assembled to hinder the landing of the Christians ; 
but they were soon pacified, and bartered fish and gold for pins 
and the little bells they loved so much. The third day after 
reaching Belen the Admiral sent his brother, the Adelantado, 
around by sea in boats to the Veragua river, one league to the 
west, where dwelt the Quibian (called Quibio by Don Fer- 
nando), or head chief of the Indians of this region. The 
chieftain and his warriors come down the river in canoes to 
meet the strangers, and fight if necessary, but the Indian guides 
from up the coast tell him about the Spaniards, and he receives 

* January 6th, 1503. The Admiral called the port Belen, "because 
the day on which the Wise Men found shelter in that Holy Place." 



ninety-eight 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

Don Bartolome in a dignified and friendly manner." Gifts are 
exchanged, and the Quibian and his people parted with twenty 
golden plates, or mirrors, some tubes of gold, and nuggets of 
native gold, which they said were collected upon remote and 
rough mountains, "and that when they gathered it they did not 
eat, nor carry women along with them, which same thing the 
people of Hispaniola said when it was first discovered." Next 
day the Quibian returned the visit, and discoursed about an 
hour with the Admiral, aboard his ship. 

Columbus relates that it rained continuously until February 
14th ; but on Wednesday, the 24th of January, the Belen river 
rose so suddenly that the Spaniards believed some great shower 
had fallen on the mountains of Veragua, "which the Admiral 
called St. Christopher's, because the highest of them was above 
the region of the air where meteors are bred; for no cloud 
was ever seen above, but all below it." This flood drove the 
Capitana foul of the Gallega, lying astern, bringing the foremast 
by the board, and nearly wrecking both ships. It also partly 
filled up the channel with sand and silt, so that the vessels could 
not now leave the river if they wished to do so. The bad 
weather continued for some time, during which they caulked 
and repaired the ships. 

When it turned calmer, on Monday, the 6th of February, Don 
Bartolome, with sixty-eight men, started out in the rain, and 
rowed by sea to the Veragua river. A league and a half up 
this stream he arrived at the village of the Quibian, who 
received the Adelantado hospitably, and entertained him the 
next day with accounts of the mines. "On Wednesday they 

° Of the Quibian, Bancroft writes as follows : "He is tall, well- 
modelled, and compactly built, with restless searching eyes, but other- 
wise expressionless features, taciturn and dignified, and, for_ a savage, 
of exceptionally bland demeanor. We shall find him as politic as he is 
powerful; and as for his wealth, unfortunately for him, his domain 
includes the richest gold mines of that rich coast. On the whole, the 
Quibian is as fine a specimen of his race as the adelantado is of his. 
And thus they are fairly met, the men of Europe and the men of North 
America ; and as in the gladiatorial combat, which opens with a smiling 
salutation, this four-century life-struggle begins with friendly greetings. 
Pity it is, they are outwardly not more evenly matched ; pity it is, that 
the European with his civilization, saltpetre, Christianity and blood- 
hounds, his steel weapons, and strange diseases, should be allowed to 
do his robbery so easily! But ravenous beasts and bloody bipeds are 
so made that they do not hesitate to take advantage of the helpless ; it 
is only civilized man, however, that calls his butcherings by pleasant 
names, such as progress, piety, and makes his religion and his law 
conform to his heart's unjust desires." 

History of Cent. Amer., Vol.i., p. 219. 

ninety-nine 



FOURTH VOYAGE OP 

traveled four leagues and a half, and came to lie near a river, 
which they passed forty-four times, and the next day advanced 
a league and a half towards the mines shewed them by Indians 
sent by Quibio to guide them. In two hours time after they 
came thither every man gathered some gold about the roots of 
the trees which were there very thick and of a prodigious 
height. This sample was much valued, because none of those 
that went had any tools to dig, or had ever gathered any. 
Therefore, the design of their journey being only to get infor- 
mation of the mines, they returned very well pleased that same 
day to Veragua, and the next to the ships." 

Only those of my readers who have hiked and scrambled 
through the jungles of the Isthmus can picture these poor, 
tired white men, many no doubt in cuirass and helmet, carrying 
sword, buckler, arquebus, and cross-bow, toiling and sweating 
after their fleet-footed guides. It is probable that the Quibian 
had heard of the doings of the Spaniards in Haiti, and he was 
wise enough to conduct them out of his own domain, and show 
the mines belonging to his enemy, the chief of Urira (Hurird). 
From an elevation the guides pointed out the mineral lands of 
the other chieftains, and proclaimed that at the end of twenty 
days' journey to the westward one would still be among them. 

The report of his brother was so confirmatory of the wealth 
of this region that Columbus determined to leave a garrison to 
hold the country; while he went back to Spain for reinforce- 
ments. He believed that the gold of Veragua would fully atone 
with Ferdinand for his failure to find a strait leading to India. 
In his letters to the King and Queen, from aboard his water- 
logged wrecks on the shores of Jamaica, in the following July, 
the Admiral writes : 

"One thing I can venture upon stating, because there are so 
many witnesses of it, viz: that in this land of Veragua I saw 
more signs of gold in the two first days than I saw in Espafiola 
during four years, and that there is not a more fertile or better 
cultivated country in all the world, nor one whose inhabitants 
are more timid ; added to which there is a good harbor, a beau- 
tiful river, and the whole place is capable of being easily put 
in a state of defense." 

In that same letter he contended that the mines of Aurea 
were identical with those of Veragua, from which, according to 
Josephus, came the gold left by David to Solomon wherewith 
to build the Temple. Columbus further adds : "They say that 
when one of the lords of the country of Veragua dies, they bury 
all the gold he possessed with his body." 

one hundred 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

On Thursday, the 14th of February, Don Bartolome, with 
forty men on shore and fourteen more in a boat, made a recon- 
noissance along the coast to the west, to see if he could find a 
better site than the Belen river for a settlement. The next day 
the party reached the river of Urird, seven leagues from Belen; 
and the cacique of that territory came a league from his town 
to meet the white men, and offer them provisions and golden 
plates. "Whilst they were here the cacique and chief men 
never ceased putting a dry herb into their mouths and chewing 
it, and sometimes they took a sort of powder they carried with 
that herb, which looks very odd." Christians and Indians went 
together to the village of the latter, where the Spaniards were 
given abundance of food and a great house to lie in. 

While at Urira the chief of the neighboring town of Dururi 
called upon the Adelantado, and his people "trucked" some gold 
plates for European trifles. These Indians said that further on 
were caciques who had plenty of gold and abundance of men 
armed like the Spaniards. The following day Don Bartolome 
ordered a part of his men to return by land to the ships, and he, 
with thirty he kept with him, journeyed to Zobraba (Cobrava), 
"where the fields for about six leagues were all full of maize." 
Thence he went to Cateba (Cotiba), another town, where he 
was well entertained, and exchanged trinkets for the golden 
plates they wore hanging from a string about the neck. 

Finding no port, nor any river bigger than the Belen, the 
Adelantado returned on the 24th, and so reported to the 
Admiral. Accordingly, Columbus gave orders to establish his 
colony on the River Belen, "about a cannon shot from the 
mouth of it, within a trench that lies on the right hand, com- 
ing up the river, at a mouth of which there is a little hill." 

A large storehouse was constructed, in which were placed 
provisions, goods for barter with the Indians, and several pieces 
of cannon and ammunition. About this building eight or ten 
huts were erected, made of timber and covered with palm 
leaves. Columbus gave the command of the settlement to his 
brother, Don Bartolome, and eighty men, more than half the 
number on the ships, were assigned to remain as a garrison. 
The ship Gallega was left for the use of the Adelantado, with 
a lot of fishing tackle on her, besides the stores of wine, biscuit, 
oil, vinegar, cheese, and much grain. 

All things were now settled for the Christian colony, but the 
mouth of the river remained so choked up with sand that the 
Admiral could not depart with his ships. The natives, of 
course, noted the actions of the Spaniards, and understood their 

one hundred one 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

intention to stay in their country. Gifts were liberally dis- 
tributed to the Quibian and his people, and, apparently, all 
was peaceful. 

Columbus was a poor judge of human nature, and was never 
alert to evil designs of either white men or red men ; but not 
so Diego Mendez, the notary of the fleet. In the latter's will, 
made in Valladolid in June, 1536, he tells how he observed a 
number of canoes passing the mouth of the Belen, going always 
in the direction of Veragua; which suspicious incident he 
reported to the Admiral. He then led a boat-load of armed 
men after the canoes, and came upon a thousand dusky war- 
riors on the seashore between the two rivers. The Indians 
explained their gathering by saying they were about to attack 
the people of Cobrara Aurira (Cobrava) ; but when Mendez 
offered to join them they declined so promptly that he was 
convinced the real point of attack was the new settlement on 
the Belen. 

Next day, with only Rodrigo de Escobar to accompany him, 
Mendez made a scout on foot. At the mouth of the Veragua 
he met two canoes filled with strange Indians, who warned him 
that in two days the Veraguans intended to attack the white 
men and burn their houses. Nothing daunted, the notary 
bribed these Indians to paddle him up the river to the royal 
house of the Quibian, which he found on a hilltop, occupying 
the side of a plaza surrounded by the heads of three hundred 
of his enemies. The King claimed to be suffering from an 
arrow wound in the leg, and Mendez pretended to be a surgeon 
come to heal him. Exhibiting a box of ointment, and boldly 
approaching the entrance of the royal household, he was met 
by the Quibian's son, who angrily pushed him away. Mendez 
then calmly took a seat, brought forth comb, scissors, and mir- 
ror, and directed Escobar to trim his hair. This performance 
first astonishes, then charms the surrounding natives. The 
young chieftain begs to have his hair cut likewise, and when 
presented with the cunning instruments he and Mendez part in 
seeming friendship. 

Don Fernando does not mention this ridiculous and fool- 
hardy adventure; but, even if true, I fail to see what benefit 
resulted from it. 

It being evident that the Quibian intended to attack the 
Spaniards, it was thought fit to seize him and his principal men 
and send them to Spain. On March 30th the Adelantado, with 
seventy-six men, went to the village of Veragua. The Quibian 
sent him word not to come up to his house ; but Don Bartolome, 

one hundred two 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

with only five men, kept on to the entrance thereof, where 
another messenger bid him not to enter; that the Quibian, 
though wounded, would make his appearance. 

"Accordingly he came and sat at the door, bidding only the 
lieutenant come near him, who did so, ordering the rest to fall 
on as soon as he laid hold of his arm." Through an Indian he 
had taken along, the Adelantado questioned the chieftain con- 
cerning his indisposition, and, pretending to look at the wound, 
grasped him securely. His companions hurried to the assistance 
of Don Bartolome, and Mendez fired his musket, which scared 
the Indians, and called up the main body of the Spaniards. 

Besides the Quibian, a number of his captains, wives, and 
children were captured, "and never a one wounded, for they, 
seeing their King taken, would make no resistance." The 
natives, amid great lamentation, offer a great treasure to be 
set free ; but the Adelantado hurried his prisoners to the boats 
to be carried back to the ships. The captives were placed in 
charge of Juan Sanchez de Cadiz, a pilot of good reputation, 
who volunteered for the honor. Sanchez was cautioned not to 
allow the cacique to escape, and he boastingly answered "he 
would give them leave to pull off his beard if he got from him. 
So he took him into his custody, and went down the river of 
Veragua. Being come within half a league of the mouth of it, 
and Quibio complaining that his hands were too hard bound, 
Juan^anchez, out of compassion, loosed him from the seat of 
the boat to which he was tied, and held the rope in his hand. 
A little after, Quibio observing he did not mind him, threw 
himself into the water; and Juan Sanchez, not being able to 
hold fast the rope, let go that he might not draw him after 
into the water. Night coming on, and those in the boat being 
all in a confusion, they could not see or hear where he got 
ashore, so that they heard no more of him than if a stone had 
fallen into the water. That the like might not happen with the 
rest of the prisoners, they held on their way to the ships with 
much shame for their carelessness and oversight." 

The Adelantado, with the greater part of his men, remained 
at Veragua to pursue the Indians ; but finding their houses far 
apart, and the country woody and mountainous, he returned 
to Belen on the following day. The gold plates, coronets, 
eagles, and little quills plundered from the Quibian's house, 
amounting to three hundred ducats, were presented to the 
Admiral, who, after deducting the royal fifth, divided the 
remainder among the members of that expedition, the Adelan- 
tado, in token of victory, receiving one of the golden twists, or 

one hundred three 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

coronets. This was an exhibition of generosity so rare as to 
be almost unique. Indeed, the illiberality of the Admiral — con- 
scientiousness you may choose to call it — was one of the reasons 
for his unpopularity with his men. 

Neither Columbus nor his brother anticipated trouble from 
the escape of the Quibian, and the colony being provided for, the 
Admiral resolved to depart for Hispaniola, from whence to 
send supplies to Belen. With the advent of the rainy season, 
early in April, the river cut a channel through the bar, and the 
Admiral took advantage of a calm day to lighten his three ships 
and tow them out of the river, each keel scraping the loose 
sands as it went out. The unladed goods were then brought 
off in the boats, and the ships anchored a league from the 
mouth of the Belen, awaiting a fair wind. 

While most of the garrison were at work with the vessels, 
and bidding their comrades good-bye, the Adelantado was left 
at Belen with only about twenty men. Their experience with 
the timid Haitians caused the Spaniards to underestimate the 
valor of the Veraguans, and no one was on guard to sound 
warning of danger. This gave the Quibian, who had not 
drowned, as many supposed, a fine opportunity to attack the 
reduced garrison and destroy the settlement. The dense 
jungle had not been cut away around the huts, and concealed 
the Indians until they were directly upon the Spaniards, and 
had fired a volley of arrows. Four or five of the little band 
were wounded at the start, but the Adelantado, being a man 
of great resolution, seized a spear and led his men against the 
enemy, forcing them to the woods. The Indians fought with 
large wooden swords {mac anas), and cast their javelins like in 
the Spanish sport called Juego de Cams, but fled from the 
Christians after feeling the edge of their swords, and the teeth 
of a dog which furiously assailed them. 

Don Fernando tells us one Spaniard was killed and seven 
wounded, including his uncle, the Adelantado, who was hurt in 
the breast by a javelin. During the fighting Diego Tristan, 
captain of the flagship, came in the river, with a dozen men, in 
two boats, to get a supply of fresh water. When called by his 
countrymen, he refused to help them, and would not even go 
near the shore for fear, as he said, they would rush on the 
boats and swamp them, and all perish, besides leaving the 
Admiral without any boats. In spite of his refusal to aid 
them, those on shore warned him not to go up the river ; that 
the woods were full of Indians ; but Tristan said his orders 
were to get water, and up the river he would go. That was 

one hundred four 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

the last seen of the selfish and stubborn, but brave, captain. 
Shortly after, pieces of the boats came floating down the river, 
together with the corpses of some of his men, each attended by 
a lot of vultures. 

The next day Juan de Noya, of Seville, one of the pilots of 
the Viscaino, badly wounded, came crawling into the settlement, 
the sole survivor of the unfortunate party. He told how they 
had been attacked, about a league above the colony, by a 
multitude of Indians in canoes, who cast their javelins from all 
sides and made a most hideous noise with their horns. Captain 
Tristan fought bravely, being wounded in many places, till at 
last a spear pierced his eye, and he fell dead. In the height of 
the fray Juan tumbled out of his boat and swam under water 
to the shore, without being observed by the Indians, and so 
saved his life. 

The situation of the small party at Belen was now extremely 
critical, and they would have left the river on the Gallego had 
not the heavy surf again filled the channel with sand. Neither 
they nor the Admiral had a boat capable of crossing the bar, and 
the two parties were miles apart and invisible to each other. 

Flushed with victory, the Quibian again turned his attention 
to Belen. The jungle resounded to the noise of war-drums and 
conchs, and for several days he besieged the handful of white 
men. When almost exhausted, the latter abandoned their build- 
ings and moved to an open beach to the eastward, close by the 
caravel, where a breastwork was made with the casks and 
stores, and the cannon planted at convenient places for defense. 
They were now out of range of the arrows unless the Indians 
exposed themselves by coming out of the woods. 

In the meantime, Columbus, racked with pains and filled with 
anxiety, waited for the return of Tristan, or some message from 
his brother. His ships were eaten up by the teredo, and at any 
time a storm might drive them upon the lee shore. To add to 
his troubles, the Indian prisoners, kept in the hold of the Ber- 
muda, piled up the stones used for ballast, one night, upon 
which they mounted and threw off the hatch, and with it their 
guards, sleeping thereon. Many got out and sprang overboard, 
no doubt reaching the land in safety. Those not able to escape, 
preferring death to captivity, hung themselves from the deck- 
beams, which, being low% the poor Indians had to draw up their 
legs in order to stretch their miserable necks. Others there 
were who simply attached the end of the noose to their foot 
and slowly strangled themselves to death. 

The escape of the family and friends of the Quibian 

one hundred five 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

removed any hold the Admiral might have upon the chieftain 
of Veragua, but it likewise solved the problem of how to com- 
municate with the shore. Some of the sailors affirmed that 
if the Indians could swim a league to land to obtain liberty, 
they could risk going through the surf to save themselves and 
comrades. Pedro de Ledesma, a pilot of Seville, was the one 
to make the attempt. In the only remaining boat, that of the 
Bermuda, he was rowed up to within a musket-shot of land, 
when he threw himself into the water, "and with a good heart 
got ashore." After some time he came back through the 
breakers to the waiting boat, and reported to the Admiral the 
disaster to Tristan and the serious plight of the colony. 

Nearly the entire voyage Columbus was so invalided that he 
seldom went ashore ; but delegated his authority to his brother, 
Don Bartolome. While lying off the Belen, worried about the 
fate of his men and the safety of his ships, Columbus, tired out 
and sick in both body and mind, fell into a sleep, as he calls it, 
and experienced what historians have called his "vision." It 
was a dreamland hallucination of hearing and not of sight, as 
the word vision would indicate. Considerable incredulity has 
been expressed as to the genuineness of this so-called "vision," 
but I believe it to have been a very natural result of his poor 
physical and abnormal mental conditions. 

The Admiral, in his report of this voyage, states that he had 
a strong fever, and that his wound — probably a reminder of his 
pirate days — reopened. He felt that all was lost. "I toiled up 
to the highest part of the ship, and with a quivering voice and 
fast-falling tears, I called upon your Highness' war-captains 
from each point of the compass to come to my succor, but there 
was no reply." He then fell asleep, during which a compas- 
sionate voice likened him to Moses, David, and Abraham, and 
concluded by saying: "Fear not, trust; all these tribulations 
are recorded on marble, and not without cause." Don Fer- 
nando makes no mention of this incident, or of anything 
unusual happening to his father at this time. 

Understanding the situation of those ashore, and the danger 
of leaving his colony as planned, Columbus gave orders to bring 
off his men and supplies. Diego Mendez, who was with the 
Adelantado, was put in charge of the work. It being impos- 
sible to get the Gallega out of the river, the ship was dismantled, 
and her spars lashed across some canoes, forming a sort of 
■catamaran. Out of her sails Mendez made sacks for carrying 
the biscuit and other stores. In eight days the weather mended 
so much that they could pass out with the improvised trans- 

one hundred six 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

port, towing the oil, wine, and vinegar casks with ropes. All 
used such diligence that in two days nothing was left behind 
but the worm-eaten hulk of the Gallega. Seven trips were 
required to transfer the goods, Diego Mendez, with five men, 
being the last to leave. He affirmed that the Admiral was so 
pleased with his labors that he kissed and embraced him, and 
gave him the vacant captaincy of the flagship. 

The settlement of Bethlehem (Nuestra Sefiora de Belen), 
on the Bethlehem river (Santa Maria de Belen), perhaps the 
first ' attempt of the Spaniards to obtain a footing on the conti- 
nent of the New World, was even more short-lived than 
Navidad, their first settlement on Haiti. Columbus writes : "I 
departed, in the name of the Holy Trinity, on Easter night, 
with the ships rotten, wornout, and eaten in holes." 

From my study of the subject, as shown in a later chapter, 
I give the credit for the first attempt at settlement to Ojeda, 
for his effort at Bahia Honda, near the Gulf of Venezuela, 
"There is glory enough for all." 

Again, taking up the narrative of Don Fernando, who says: 
"Thus rejoicing we were all together again, we sailed up that 
coast eastward; for though all the pilots were of opinion that 
we might return to St. Domingo, standing away to the north, 
yet only the Admiral and his brother knew it was requisite to 
run a considerable way up that coast before they struck across 
that gulf that is between the continent and Hispaniola, which 
our men were much displeased at, thinking the Admiral 
designed directly for Spain; whereas, he neither had pro- 
visions, nor were his ships fit for that voyage." For the third 
time Columbus passed the Chagres river and Limon Bay, and 
entered Puerto Bello. The ship Biscaina was leaking so badly 
that she was abandoned here, where her anchor was found a 
few years later by Diego de Nicuesa, who likewise met disaster 
on this coast. From Puerto Bello the Admiral continued to the 
east, passing Bastimentos, El Retrete, and Punta San Bias. 
Beyond this point was the country of the cacique Pocorosa, and 
opposite the main was a string of islets, which Columbus 
named Las Barhas (now known as Las Mulatas), where he 
spent a night at anchor. The Admiral kept on along the 
Isthmus for ten leagues farther, and at the region which 

*"Y este fue el primer pueblo que se hizo espanoles en tierra 
firme puesto que luego desde a poco vino en nada." Comment of Las 
Casas on his transcription of the Journal of Columbus. 



one hundred seven 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

Fernando Colon calls Marmora turned northward for His- 
paniola, on the ist day of May, 1503.' 

Writers commonly state that Columbus sailed as far east as 
Cabo Tiburon, and that he saw the Gulf of Darien (Uraba) ; 
but I doubt if he went east of Punta Mosquito. He still 
believed that a strait existed somewhere in this region, and 
it is hardly probable that he would have failed to investigate, 
or at least to mention seeing, this body of water, which extends 
into the land towards the south, and looks so much as if it 
ought to be a strait. 

Columbus tells us that he did not wish his pilots to know the 
location of Veragua, and to accomplish this, according to 
Porras, he took from them the charts. 

Still another reason for sailing so far to the east was to 
overlap the western limits of the voyage of Rodrigo de Bastidas, 
who sailed along the eastern half of the Isthmus, in 1501. 
When stopping at Santo Domingo, on the outward voyage, the 
Admiral or his captains heard something of the route followed 
by Bastidas ; and from Porto Bello eastward he found evidences 
of a former visit by white men. 

When Columbus departed from the Isthmus, in the region of 
Punta Mosquito, all hands were working with pumps and 
kettles to keep the two ships from being swamped by the water 
which was coming in through the holes made by the worms. 
On Wednesday, the loth of May, they passed two low, small 
islands, full of turtles, for which reason the Admiral named 
them Tortugas, probably the Little Caymans of modern maps. 
Though all the pilots said the course would carry them east 
of the Caribbee Islands, yet the Admiral feared, on account of 
the westerly winds and currents, that he would not be able to 
make Hispaniola, which proved to be the case, for he was now 
not only west of Hispaniola, but also west of Jamaica; and 

' Columbus, in his letter from Jamaica, 7th of July, 1503, gives a 
different name and date. "On the 13th of May I arrived at the prov- 
ince of Mago, which borders upon that of Catayo, and from there I 
departed for Espanola." Obviously, Mago and Catayo stand for Mangi 
and Cathay, and were not names of regions along the Isthmus of 
Panama. The Admiral may have really believed that he had arrived 
at these Asiatic provinces ; but more likely he was deceiving the 
authorities at home as to the location of Veragua and neighboring 
regions. In fact, in this same incoherent letter, Columbus defies his 
pilots to say "where is the situation of Veragua." In addition to 
gathering up all the charts in the fleet, the Admiral took a book 
describing the places visited, from Pedro Mateos, a sailor on the 
Gallego, who testified to the fact in Court in after years. A few years 
later, Diego de Nicuesa did find it difficult to locate Veragua. 

one hundred eight 



COLUMBUS TO AMBRICA 

on the evening of the following Friday, Columbus found him- 
self among the familiar islets of the Queen's Gardens, still 
known as the Jardines, off the south coast of Cuba, near the 
Isle of Pines. While at anchor, ten leagues from the main, a 
great storm arose in the night and drove the Bermuda into the 
stern of the Capitana, to the injury of both. 

From here, the Admiral sailed eastward for Hispaniola, 
along the shore of Cuba, and came to an Indian town, called 
Mataia, where he obtained some much-needed provisions. The 
winds and currents still setting to the west, and the water in 
the ships being almost up to the deck, Columbus gave up hope 
of reaching Hispaniola and headed for Jamaica. On the 24th 
of June he put into Puerto Bueno, in the northwest corner of 
Jamaica, which was a good harbor, but had no fresh water nor 
any Indian village near it at which to get food. "On the day 
after the Feast of St. John," the Admiral managed to get his 
ships into another harbor, a few miles farther east, which he 
had visited in 1494, and named Santa Gloria. Plere, on the 
25th day of June, 1503, the two foundering caravels, the 
Capitana and the Bermuda (Santiago), were run aground 
about a bow-shot from land, and the active life of Don Chris- 
topher Columbus, High Admiral of the Ocean Sea, came to an 
end. Santa Gloria is now called St. Ann's Bay, and the sandy 
shore on which he beached his vessels is yet known as Don 
Christopher's Cove. 

The ships lay board to board, and were shored up so that 
they could not budge. Sheds were built on deck, poop, and 
forecastle for the protection of the men, and Columbus spent 
a weary year waiting for succor from Santo Domingo.* 

In July, Diego Mendez and Bartholomew Fiesco, a Genoese 
gentleman who had been captain of the forsaken Biscaina, 
made the perilous trip to Haiti in two canoes, each manned by 
six sailors and ten Indians. The second night from Jamaica, 
when nearly exhausted, the rising moon disclosed "a small 
island called Nahasza" (now Navassa), where they landed the 
next morning and secured rain-water from holes in the rocks, 
the thirsty Indians drinking so much of it that some of them 

'There was no white settlement, as yet, on Jamaica, as Juan de 
Esquivel, by order of Admiral Diego Colon, did not make an entry into 
this island until November, 1509. Columbus and his party certainly 
acted very foolishly at this time, — ^the Admiral in stubbornly trying to 
hold together his party on the stranded hulks; the mutineers in attack- 
ing Columbus when it was evident there was nothing to gain. 

one hundred nine 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

died on the spot. Mendez' struck a fire and cooked some shell- 
fish, which they found along the shore. Having rested and 
refreshed themselves, they set out again about sun-setting, in 
the cool of the evening, and the next morning arrived at Cape 
St. Michael, the nearest land of Haiti. 

"Notwithstanding he suflFered under a quartan ague," Mendez 
traveled across the mountains of Xaragua until he found 
Ovando, butchering the subjects of the queenly ^wacaona, whom 
he hanged shortly afterwards. The Governor had neither the 
desire nor time to devote to the relief of the old Admiral, and 
proceeded with his killing. The faithful Mendez then went to 
the town of Santo Domingo, and with Diego de Salcedo, the 
agent of Columbus, succeeded, after nearly a year, in purchas- 
ing with the Admiral's money a vessel with which to go to his 
relief. 

Meanwhile, the Admiral found great difficulty in getting the 
natives to furnish supplies for his men, and at one time 
utilized his knowledge of astronomy to foretell an eclipse of 
the moon to the caciques, in order to extract greater quantities 
from them. 

One day, in March, a caravel came to Santa Gloria, bringing 
a messenger, or spy, from Ovando, one Diego de Escobar, 
whom Columbus had previously condemned to death for the 
part he took in the Roldan rebellion. He gave the Admiral a 
letter from Ovando, with "a cask of wine and two flitches of 
bacon," and mysteriously hurried away. 

On the 2d of January, 1504, the two brothers, Francisco and 
Diego de Porras, headed a mutiny and deserted the Admiral, 
followed by forty-eight of his men. They made a futile attempt 
to reach Hispaniola, and then roamed over Jamaica, robbing 
and insulting the natives. Tiring of this, the mutineers decided 
to attack the ships and make prisoners of Columbus and his 
brother. About a mile from the two stranded vessels, near 
the Indian village of Maima," on the 19th of May, the rebels 

* The Admiral appreciated the great services of Diego Mendez, and 
granted his request to be appointed to the office of Alguacilazgo Mayor 
of the island of Espanola for life. Soon after this, Columbus died, 
and Diego Colon paid scant heed to the wishes of his father. Oviedo 
relates that the Catholic King gave Mendez for arms a lonely canoe 
upon the sea. 

" "Where afterwards the Christians built the town they called 
Sevilla," writes Don Fernando. 

By order of the Admiral Don Diego Colon, Juan de Esquivel, in 
November, 1509, proceeded to Jamaica, and brought the natives to sub- 
jection without the effusion of blood. On the site of the Indian village 

one hundred ten 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

were met and defeated by the Adelantado and fifty loyal 
adherents. This was the first fight between white men on the 
island of Jamaica. Francisco de Porras was captured, and 
among- the dead mutineers was Juan Sanchez, who allowed the 
Quibian to escape at Veragua. The pilot, Pedro de Ledesma, 
"who went with Vicente Yafiez [Pinzon] to Honduras, and 
swam ashore at Belen," also a rebel, was almost hacked to 
pieces, but was nursed back to life by barber-surgeon Mark, 
and lived to be assassinated in Spain. The Adelantado was 
wounded in the hand by the sword of Francisco de Porras as 
it pierced his buckler ; and Pedro de Terreros, the loyal captain 
of the Gallega, was killed. 

,A few weeks later, the ship purchased by Mendez, and 
another sent by Ovando in response to public opinion, arrived 
at Santa Gloria. Jime 28, 1504, Columbus and his crews 
departed for St. Domingo, but encountered westerly winds 
and currents, as usual, and it was not until the 13th of August 
that they reached their destination. The people welcomed the 
Admiral with distinction, and he was lodged in the Governor's 
house. On the 12th of September he sailed for Spain, and 
after a tempestuous voyage anchored in the harbor of San 
Lucar, on the 7th of November. That same month his friend, 
Queen Isabella, died, and Columbus received but scant consid- 
eration from the wily Ferdinand. 

The Admiral urged his claims against the Crown, but was 
never restored to his viceroyalty ; nor did he receive the share 
of the profits from the Indies granted him under the royal seal. 
"It was believed," observes Las Casas, "that if the King could 
have done so with a safe conscience, and without detriment to 
his fame, he would have respected few or none of the privileges 
which he and the Queen had conceded to the Admiral, and 
which had been so justly merited." 

Worn out with disease and disappointment, he made a codicil 
to his will, bequeathing all his titles and privileges to his son 
Diego, and prepared for death. After receiving the sacrament, 
he said, "In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum." 
Columbus "gave up his soul to God on Ascension Day, being 
the 20th of May, 1506." He died in YalladoHd, in an inn, the 
room of which is still pointed out. Above his death-bed hung 

of Maima, Esquivel founded the pueblo of Nueva Sevilla, where a few 
years later he died and was buried. In more recent times the town 
had disappeared, the location being occupied by the Seville sugar 
plantation. 

one hundred eleven 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

the chains in which he had returned to Spain, in 1500, and 
which, in conformity to his wishes, were buried with him. 

The remains of Columbus have experienced the same vicissi- 
tudes of fortune that followed the Admiral in life. At first 
his body was interred in the Convent of St. Francisco, in 
ValladoHd, and a few years later was moved to the Carthusian 
Monastery of Las Cuevas, in Seville. Here also, in 1526, was 
deposited the body of his son, Don Diego Colon. On the 
petition of Doiia Maria de Toledo, widow of Don Diego, about 
1540, the remains of both Admiral and son were transported 
to Santo Domingo, Hispaniola. It is probable that Don Bar- 
tolome, and the two sons of Don Diego, Luis and Cristobal, 
likewise found sepulchre in Santo Domingo. 

By the treaty of Basle, in 1795, Spain ceded to France all her 
title to Hispaniola, "the cradle of her greatness in the New 
World" ; so the Duke of Veragua, lineal descendant of Colum- 
bus, and the Spanish authorities, decided to again remove the 
ashes of the Admiral, and bear them to Cuba, in order to 
preserve the sacred relics under the Spanish flag. A small 
vault on the right, or Gospel, side of the high altar of the 
cathedral was opened, wherein were found some dust and 
fragments of bones, supposed to be the remains of Columbus. 
The crumbling bones were carried on the warship San Lorenzo 
to Havana; and in January, 1796, reinterred, with pomp and 
ceremony, in the wall of the presbytery of the cathedral in that 
city. 

However, in the year 1877, a tomb was uncovered in the 
Cathedral at Santo Domingo, which contained a leaden box, 
holding human vestiges, and also a bullet. From the inscrip- 
tions on the casket, as well as from its location, these were 
judged to be the true relics of Christopher Columbus ; and the 
ashes taken to Cuba, in 1795, to have been those of his son, 
Don Diego Colon. 

At present both Santo Domingo and Havana claim to possess 
the restos, or remains of Columbus. 

Furthermore, it is affirmed that the Havana ashes, whosoever 
they be, were carried to Spain, in 1898, before the occupation 
of the city by United States troops. 

Relacion de la gente e navios que llevo a descubrir el Almirante 
Don Cristobal Colon. 



one hundred twelve 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

CARABELA CAPITANA. 

Diego Tristan, capitan : fallecio jueves seis de Abril de 1502 [3]. 
Ambrosio Sanchez, maestre. 

Juan Sanchez, piloto mayor de la armada : fallecio a 17 de Mayo de 1504. 
Anton Donato, contramaestre. 



MARINEROS. 

Martin Dati. 

Bartolome Garcia : fallecio domingo 28 de Mayo de 503 aiios. 

Pero Rodriguez : fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503 anos. 

Juan Rodriguez. 

Alonso de Almagro. 

Pedro de Toledo. 

Pedro de Maya : fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503 afios. 

Juan Gomez. 

Diego Roldan. 

Juan Gallego. 

Juan de Valencia : fallecio sabado 13 de Enero de 504. 

Gonzalo Rodriguez : fallecio martes 4 de Abril de 503. 

Tristan Perez Chinchorrero. 

Rodrigo Vergayo. 



ESCUDEROS. 



Pedro Fernandez Coronel. 
Francisco Ruiz. 
Alonzo de Zamora. 
Guillermo Ginoves. 
Masetre Bernal, Fisico. 



GRUMETES. 



Diego Portogalete : fallecio miercoles a 4 de Enero de 503. 

Martin Juan. 

Donis de Galve. 

Juan de Zumados. 

Francisco de Estrada. 

Anton Chavarin. 

Alonzo, Criado de Mateo Sanchez: fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503. 

Grigorio Sollo : fallecio miercoles 27 de Junio de 504. 

Diego el Negro. 

Pero Sanchez. 

Francisco Sanchez. 

Francisco de Moron. 

Juan de Murcia. 

Grigorio Ginoves. 

Ferrando Davila. 

Alonzo de Leon. 

Juan de Miranda: fallecio martes 11 de Abril de 503. 

Garcia de Morales : quedo por doliente en Cadiz ; era criado del Almir- 

ante. 
Juan Garrido : fallecio a 27 de Febrero de 504. 
Baltasar Daragon. 

one hundred thirteen 



FOURTH VOYAGE OF 

OFICIALES DE NAO. 

Martin de Arriera, t'onelero. 

Domingo Viscaino, calafate: fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503. 

Diego Frances, carpintero. 

Juan Barba, lombardero : fallecio a 20 de Mayo de 504. 

Mateo Bombardero: fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503. 

Juan de Cuellar, trompeta. 

Gonzalo de Salazar, trompeta. 

CARABELA SANTIAGO DE PALOS 

Francisco de Porras, capitan. 

Diego de Porras, escribano e oficial de la armada. 

Francisco Bermudez, maestre. 

Pero Gomez, contramaestre. 

MARINEROS. 
Rodrigo Ximon. 

Francisco Domingo : fallecio sabado 4 de Febrero de 503. 
Juan de Quijo. 

Juan Rodriguez : fallecio a 6 de Abril de 503. 
Juan de la Feria. 
Juan Camacho. 
Juan Grand. 

Juan Reynaltes : fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503. 
Diego Gomez. 
Alonzo Martin. 



ESCUDEROS. 



Francisco de Farias. 
Diego Mendez. 
Pedro Gentil. 
Andrea Ginoves. 
Juan Jacome. 
Batista Ginoves. 



GRUMETES. 



Gonzalo Ramirez. 

Juan Bandrojin: fallecio a 23 de Octubre de 503. 

Diego Ximon. 

Aparicio Donis: fallecio jueves 1° de Junio de 503. 

Alonzo Escarraman, Francisco Marquez y Juan de Mogues llevan 

sueldo de dos grumetes : el Alonzo fallecio martes 23 de Enero. 

de 504- 
Alonso de Cea. 
Pedro de Villatoro. 
Ramiro Ramirez. 
Francisco Davila. 
Diego de Mendoza, 
Diego Cataiio. 

OFICIALES DE NAO. 

Bartolome de Milan, lombardero. 

Juan de Noya, tonelero. 

Domingo Darana, calafate: fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503. 

Machin, carpintero. 

one hundred fourteen 



COLUMBUS TO AMERICA 

NAVIO GAI.LEGO. 

Pedro de Terreros, capitan: fallecio miercoles 29 de Mayo de 504. 

Juan Quintero, maestre. 

Alonso Ramon, contramaestre : fallecio jueves a 6 de Abril de 503. 

MARINEROS. 

Rui Ferrandes. 

Luis Ferrandes. 

Gonzalo Garcia. 

Pedro Mateos. 

Julian Martin : fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503. 

Diego Cabezudo. 

Diego Delgado. 

Rodrigalvares. 



Gonzalo Camacho. 



ESCUDEROS. 
GRUMETES. 



Pedro de Flandes. 

Bartolome Ramisez : fallecio jueves 6 de Abril de 503. 

Anton Quintero. 

Bartolome Dalza. 

Gonzalo Flamenco. 

Pedro Barranco. 

Juan Galdi : fallecio 9 de Setiembre de 504. 

Alonso Penac. 

Esteban Mateos, page. 

Diego de Satander. 

Garcia Polanco. 

Juan Garcia. 

Francisco de Medina, huyo en la Espanola, no se supo mas de el. 

Juan de San Martin, 

NAVIO VIZCAINO. 

Bartolome de Fresco, Ginoves, capitan. 
Juan Perez, maestre : fallecio sabado 7 de Octubre de 503. 
Martin de Fuenterabia, contramaestre: fallecio a 17 de Setiembre de 
502 [3]. 

MARINEROS. 

Pedro de Ledesma. 

Juan Ferro. 

Juan Moreno. 

San Juan. 

Gonzalo Diaz. 

Gonzalo Gallego, huyo en la Isla Espanola y dijeron que habia fallecido. 

Alonso de la Calle : fallecio martes 23 de Mayo de 503. 

Lope de Pego. 

ESCUDEROS. 



Fray Alejandre, en lugar de Escudero. 
Juan Pasau, Ginoves. 



one hundred fifteen 



PO URTH VOYAGE 



GRUMETES. 

Miguel de Lariaga: fallecio sabado 17 de Setiembre de 502 [3], 

Andres de Sevilla. 

Luis de Vargas. 

Batista Ginoves. 

Francisco de Levante. 

Francisco de Cordoba, entro en lugar de un escudero, criado del 

Almirante, que se quedo en Sevilla. Se huyo en la Espanola a 

la ida, y esta alia. 
Pedro de Montesel. 
Rodrigo de Escobar. 

Domingo de Barbasta 6 Narbasta : fallecio martes 26 de Marzo de 504. 
Pascual de Ausurraga. 
Cheneco 6 Cheulco, page. 
Marco Surjano : fallecio miercoles 



{Navarrete — tomo 1, pags. 437-43-) 



II de Setiembre de 504 anos. 



one hundred sixteen 



CHAPTER VII 



DON RODRIGO DE BASTIDAS 
Discoverer of the Isthmus of Darien 

"Conquistador y Pacyficador de Sancta Marta" 

"Spain's Best and Noblest Conquistador" 

"Aqui hace su manida 
Don Rodrigo de Bastidas, 
Que con criieles heridas 
Acabo la dulce vida. 

"Tuvo pujanza y_ valor, 
De riquezas copia harta, 
Y ansi fue gobernador 
Primero de Santa Marta." 

Juan de Castellanos. 

I 

HE first European to reach the Isthmus of 
Panama was Rodrigo de Bastidas, who, in 
1 501, a year before the visit of Columbus, 
discovered the eastern half of the Isthmus, 
from the Gulf of Darien as far west as 
Bastimentos and Punta Manzanilla. 

When the letters of Columbus reached 
Spain, containing an account of his third 
voyage, of 1498, with specimens of gold and 
drugs from Paria, and numerous samples of 
pearls from what he called the Pearl Coast, 
navigators and adventurers were excited to renewed interest in 
the lands of the Western ocean. It was believed that, at last, 
Columbus had arrived at the borderland of the rich East, if 
not close to the terrestrial paradise, as he himself thought. The 
first to follow the Admiral to Paria was Alonso de Ojeda, the 
hot-headed soldier of fortune who had made the dashing cap- 
ture of Cacique Caonabo. Ojeda had returned from His- 
paniola to Spain, and was loitering about the Court when the 
glowing reports of Columbus arrived. Bishop Fonseca showed 

one hundred seventeen 




DON RODRIGO 

the letters and charts of the Admiral to Ojeda, and the latter, 
with his knowledge of the Indies, immediately perceived that 
here was an opportunity not only to achieve greater distinction, 
but also to garner the first fruits of this new discovery. 

Under the royal license of April lo, 1495, issued when 
Columbus was in great disfavor, any subject of Spain might 
make a voyage on his own account; provided he carried 
inspectors appointed by the Crown, which should receive a 
share of the profits. He was forbidden to touch at any land 
belonging to Portugal, nor lands discovered by Columbus prior 
to 1495. The share of the Crown varied from a tenth to one- 
third. The ships usually carried a treasurer and a notary. 
Later sovereigns modified this license so as to regulate discov- 
ery, trade, and settlement in Spanish territory. At least two 
ships should undertake the voyage ; they should carry two pilots, 
and two priests; and the articles allowed for trading were 
specified. Under date of September 3rd, 1501, Los Reyes, as the 
King and Queen were designated in documents, decreed that 
anyone sailing without the royal license should suffer a for- 
feiture of ship and goods. 

Always venomous towards the Admiral, Fonseca was only 
too glad to further the scheme of his favorite, and with his 
own name signed the license permitting Ojeda to follow 
Columbus to Paria and the Coast of Pearls. With the aid of 
wealthy speculators, Ojeda fitted out four ships, and sailed 
from Port St. Mary, opposite Seville, on the 20th of May, 1499. 
Twenty-four days after leaving the Canaries he reached the 
shore of South America, about two hundred leagues east and 
south of the mouth of the Orinoco, probably the coast of 
Surinam. Ojeda then followed the land to the northwest, 
sailing through the Gulf of Paria in the wake of Columbus. 
He continued westward until beyond. the Gulf of Maracaibo, 
and at Cabo de la Vela (Cape Vela) turned away from the 
mainland and put in at Hispaniola. It is sometimes stated that 
Ojeda, on this voyage, sailed along the shores of Venezuela 
and Colombia as far west as Cabo Tiburon, in Darien, the 
western limit of the Gulf of Uraba. Under this surmise, 
Ojeda is given credit for being the first to view the Isthmus, in 
1499 ; but the claim is not well founded, and the honor should 
be accorded to Bastidas. 

The example of Ojeda roused the emulation of others, and 
Pedro Alonso Nifio, a pilot of Moguer who had sailed with 
Columbus, obtained a similar commission from Fonseca. Tak- 
ing with him Cristoval Guerra, whose brother furnished the 

one hundred eighteen 



DB BASTIDAS 

money, they departed from Spain about the first of June, 14.99, 
but a few days later than Ojeda, "They sailed from the little 
port of Palos," says Irving, "the original cradle of American 
discovery, whose brave and skillful mariners long continued 
foremost in all enterprises to the New World." Their little 
caravel of fifty tons reached Paria soon after the arrival of 
Ojeda, and Hkewise sailed westward, trading for pearls and 
guanin at Margarita, Cumana, and Cauchieto. Nino returned 
safely to Spain in April, 1500, nearly two months ahead of 
Ojeda, "so laden with pearls that they were in maner with 
every mariner as common as chaffe." For being successful, 
after risking life and fortune, Nino was accused of not account- 
ing for all his treasure, and thrown into prison, but freed later. 

In June, Ojeda came sailing into Cadiz, his ships crowded 
with Indian slaves; but when the expenses of his large outfit 
were paid, but five hundred ducats remained to be divided 
between fifty-five adventurers. 

In that same year of 1499, a second expedition started from 
Palos (the third to follow Columbus to South America), under 
command of Vicente Yafiez Pinzon. In December, 1499, 
Pinzon departed from Palos with four caravels; and on the 
20th of January, 1500, made the coast of Brazil at a point now 
called Cape St. Augustine. He landed and took possession 
for Castile with the usual formalities. 

Pinzon sailed to the north, and found himself in fresh water, 
with which he replenished his casks. Standing in to the land, 
he came to a number of verdant islands, peopled by friendly 
Indians, who fearlessly came off to the ships. These islands 
were situated in the mouth of the great river of Maranon, later 
called the Orellana, and now the Amazon. Pinzon was also 
the first to cross the Equator on the American side of the 
Atlantic Ocean. 

Having regained sight of the pole star, he continued his 
course to the northwest, passing the mouths of the Orinoco, and 
entered the Gulf of Paria, where he landed and cut Brazil- 
wood. The fleet left the Gulf by the Boca del Drago, and 
headed for Hispaniola, where they arrived about the 23d of 
June. Later, while among the Bahamas, Pinzon lost two of 
his vessels and many of his men; and when he got back to 
Palos it was to face weeping widows and angry creditors. 

Closely following Pinzon was his fellow-townsman, Diego de 
Lepe, who, early in 1500, sailed from Palos in two vessels for 
the new Terra Firma to the southwest. He passed Cape St. 
Augustine, the limit of Pinzon's voyage, and proceeded on 

one hundred nineteen 



DON RODRIGO 

down the shores of South America, going farther south than 
any other mariner reached for upwards of ten years afterwards. 

The next voyager, in chronological order, to sail from Spain 
for the West Indies was Rodrigo de Bastidas (or Bastides),a 
wealthy notary of Triana, the maritime suburb of Seville. But 
too little is known of this man who has won the almost unique 
distinction of acting like a human being in his dealings with 
the natives of America, and exhibiting some of the tenets of 
that religion under whose banner the White Man conquered the 
Red Man. Bastidas was a gentleman, and a man of learning 
and honesty; an entirely different type from the impecunious 
courtier, the swashbuckler, and the adventurer. He was a man 
of standing in his community, and his character was superior 
to the weaknesses of common men, who found in the New 
World such free vent for their evil inclinations. 

Bastidas encountered no difficulty in obtaining a royal license, 
in which he agreed to pay to the Crown a fourth of the profits 
of his voyage. A copy of this license is still in existence among 
the Archives of the Indies. He fitted out two vessels, and took 
with him that able pilot, Juan de la Cosa, who had sailed with 
Columbus, and had just returned from his voyage with Ojeda 
to Paria and the Pearl Coast. The expedition set out from 
Cadiz in October, 1500, and took on wood, water, fresh meat, 
and cheese at Gomera. They reached the coast of what is now 
Venezuela, and steered west in the route taken by Ojeda and 
Cosa in 1499. From Cabo de la Vela, the farthermost point 
reached by Ojeda, Bastidas continued on to the west, trading 
with the Indians for pearls and gold. He entered and named 
many of the ports. West of Cape Vela he came to Rio Hacha, 
Santa Marta, and the Rio Grande de Magdalena, which he dis- 
covered in March, on the day of the woman's conversion. 
Narrowly escaping shipwreck, he continued westward. At one 
place the Indians wore crowns, so Bastidas named the port 
Coronados. He sailed past the harbor of Cartagena and came 
to the river of Cenu. 

Rounding Punta Caribana, the ships turned to the south in 
the Gulf of Darien ; and we can imagine Cosa thinking that 
here was the strait leading to the Indian Ocean. He explored 
the gulf, and found the southern end to receive the fresh water 
of the Atrato river, so great in volume that, when the tide 
was low, the water in the gulf was sweet; so he called it Golfo 
Dulce. He also noted the far all ones, or rocky islets near the 
Darien shore. 

Sailing out of the gulf, Bastidas rounded Cabo Tiburon, and, 

one hundred twenty 



DB BASTIDAS 

in 1501, explored the north coast of the Isthmus as far west 
as Bastimentos and Punta Manzanillo. West of Cape Tiburon, 
he came to Caledonia Bay, Punta Mosquito, the islands of the 
Mulatas, Point San Bias, Nombre de Dios, and possibly to 
Puerto Bello. When Columbus reached the latter place, in 
1502, he began to hear of the previous visit by white men to 
the eastward. 

Bastidas was having great success collecting pearls and 
guanin and entrapping natives, when he found his vessels 
leaking so badly from the borings of the hroma, or teredo, that 
he was compelled to terminate his traffic and exploration. 
About the region of Point Manzanillo he turned from the 
Isthmus and steered for Spain. The next land reached was 
Jamaica, where the ships were supplied with wood and water. 
After leaving here, Bastidas found so much water coming in 
through the worm holes that he stopped at an islet, called Con- 
tramaestre, one league off Hispaniola, and made repairs. He 
sailed again, but encountered a gale, and was glad to put back 
to the little island for shelter. Starting out a second time, the 
worm-eaten vessels filled so rapidly that La Cosa ran into the 
port of Jaragua, where the two ships sank. 

Most of the poor Indians, who were chained or beneath the 
deck, were drowned ; and the Brazil-wood, and some gold and 
pearls were also lost, amounting in value to about 5,000,000 
maravedis. Bastidas landed the most precious and portable 
articles of his cargoes ; but later destroyed such of his arms and 
ammunition as he could not carry, lest they should fall into the 
hands of the natives. Placing what he had saved upon the 
backs of the surviving slaves, he set out for San Domingo, 
distant some seventy leagues to the eastward. In order the 
better to live off the country, Bastidas divided his men into 
three bands, two of them headed by La Cosa and himself, and 
traveled by separate routes. Each party carried a pack of 
trinkets, which they traded with the natives for provisions while 
on the way. 

The pig-headed Bobadilla, who had superseded Columbus as 
Governor of Plispaniola, heard of these parties marching 
through the country; so when Bastidas arrived at the city of 
San Domingo he was seized and imprisoned for carrying on 
illicit trade with the Indians. Bobadilla claimed that the com- 
mission given to Bastidas permitted him to trade only in lands 
discovered by himself ; while the notary maintained, very truth- 
fully, that his commerce on Hispaniola consisted simply in 
paying for guides and supplies. 

one hundred twenty-one 



DON RODRIGO 

As Bobadilla was just about to return to Spain, Bastidas was 
ordered thither for trial. The ship in which he sailed, in July, 
1502, was one of the few which lived through the hurricane 
predicted by Columbus. Bastidas easily cleared himself before 
the sovereigns, and, notwithstanding his losses, paid a hand- 
some royalty into the treasury. Three chests full of gold and 
pearls, which he brought back, were ordered to be displayed in 
the towns through which he passed, in order that others might 
be induced to venture in the Indies, gather in the gold, and pay 
the King his fifth. 

Being successful, Rodrigo de Bastidas and Juan de la Cosa 
were each awarded an annual pension of fifty thousand mara- 
vedis ; which, like most all the rewards granted by the King, 
was to come from the future revenues of the new lands they 
had found. Cosa, in addition, was made alguacil mayor of 
Uraba. 

Bastidas was so well pleased with the Indies that he took 
his wife and children to Santo Domingo, where he became rich 
in cattle, at one time possessing 8000 head, and that when a 
cow in Espanola was worth 50 pesos de oro. In 1504, the 
notary, in two ships, again sailed to Tierra Firme, carrying ofT 
six hundred natives from the mainland and from the island 
of Codego, to be sold as slaves in Espaiiola. The Emperor 
Charles, in 1520, gave Bastidas the pacification of the island of 
Trinidad, with the title of Adelantado. This grant was opposed 
by Diego Colon, on the ground that Trinidad was discovered 
by his father, and hence within his jurisdiction. Thereupon 
Bastidas waived his claim to that island, and the following 
year, 1521, the King gave him a license to settle and exploit a 
tract of land extending from Cabo de la Vela westward to the 
Rio Grande de la Magdalena. 

The expedition was delayed, and it was not until 1524, or 
1525, that Bastidas sailed from the city of Santo Domingo with 
four caravels and a ship which he bought of Xeronimo Rod- 
riguez. He carried a great quantity of supplies, including lime 
and bricks, such as his long experience in the New World 
indicated to be useful by an infant colony. The force of 
Bastidas consisted of four hundred and fifty persons, many 
of them married. The Governor's staff included Pedro de 
Villafuerte, Teniente General; Rodrigo Alvarez Palomino,, 
Maestre de Campo; and Juan de Ledesma, as Contador. 
Among the captains were Goncalo de Vides, Antonio Ponce 
Carrion, Carranca, and Hernan Vaez Portugues. 

On the 29th of July, 1524, "dia de Santa Marta," Bastidas- 

one hundred twenty-tzuo 



DB BASTIDAS 

sailed into a port within the limits of his grant. Here he 
landed ("salt 6 en tierra"), and a few days thereafter started to 
build a town, which he named Santa Marta. One of the first 
acts of the Governor was to make peace with the chiefs of the 
Gayras, Tagangas, and Dorsinos, tribes of Indians surrounding 
his settlement. 

Soon after founding the city, the Governor made a friendly 
reconnoisance of the adjoining territory, and marched into the 
interior with peace and good-will towards the natives. Four 
leagues from Santa Marta a band of Indians, called the Bondas, 
received the newcomers in a warlike manner, but were soon 
defeated by the superior arms of the white men, who captured 
their gold. 

Eighteen or twenty leagues inwards, Bastidas came upon a 
very large Indian town, called Tarbo, the most attractive 
feature of which was a large hohio containing a smelter for 
gold {"Casa de fundycion doro"). The sight of gold always 
maddened the Spanish adventurers, though at the time they 
might be actually starving for the want of food. The ruffians 
became angry that they were not allowed to rob the place, and 
murmured against their leader, declaring that he cared more 
for the Indians than he did for them. As it was, Cazique 
Taybo thought it politic to present Bastidas with 600 pesos 
worth of gold. Instead of receiving their share of the spoils, 
his followers learned that the gold collected on this trip would 
be applied to defraying the expenses of the colonization. 

The Governor had honored Pedro de Villafuerte by making 
him his lieutenant, and intended that he should succeed to the 
rulership of the colony. Nevertheless, ambition entered into 
Villafuerte, and he thought that if Bastidas were put out of 
the way, he would at once become Governor. Three or four 
days after returning from the rich Indian population to Santa 
Marta, Villafuerte took advantage of the discontent among the 
soldiers and plotted a conspiracy against the Governor with 
Montesinos de Lebrija, Montalvo de Guadalajara, Pedro de 
Porras, Xoan de Merlo, Samaniego, Serna, Bazantes, and other 
Spaniards to the number of fifty. Binding themselves by an 
oath, they bribed the captain of the guard, and two of their 
number entered the house of the Governor at night and stabbed 
the sleeping Bastidas five times, leaving him for dead. 

As soon as the assassins went out, the Governor called for 
help, and Palomino hurried to his assistance. The conspirators 
now returned to finish their bloody work, but the faithful 
maestre de campo defended the door with a broadsword and 

one hundred twenty-three 



DON RODRIGO 

drove them off. Nine of the rebels fled from the town, carry- 
ing the gold stolen from Bastidas, and hid themselves in the 
forests, where the good policy established by their commander 
protected them from the fury of the Indians. After wander- 
ing for days in the jungle, subsisting on roots found in the 
lahranzas, Villafuerte and some of his companions returned to 
Santa Marta, where they were seized by Palomino and sent to 
Santo Domingo for trial, paying for the crime with their lives. 
Others of the conspirators had the boldness to pass in a canoe 
from Santa Marta to Espafiola, and met with a similar fate. 
Unfortunately, Palomino, soon after this, came to his death by 
drowning in a river, to the grief of many. 

There being no surgeon at Santa Marta, Bastidas decided to 
hasten to Santo Domingo to be cured of his wounds. The 
unfortunate Governor, in gratitude to Palomino, gave him his 
staff of office, and set sail in a ship having Alonso Miguel for 
pilot. Bastidas became worse during the voyage, and the 
currents carrying the ship to the west, he put into Puerto de 
Sanctiago, in the island of Fernandina, as Cuba was then called. 
At Santiago was Gonzalo de Guzman, judge of residencia and 
lieutenant of the Governor. There was some anger between 
Guzman and Bastidas because the latter had confiscated a ship 
and stores sent out by Guzman, under Gonzalo de Vides, to 
traffic and steal gold and slaves along the coast belonging to 
Bastidas. Nevertheless, Guzman received the wounded Gov- 
ernor in kindness, and when Bastidas died a few days later, 
gave him honorable sepulture. This was during the year 1526. 
Bastidas was advanced in years and worn out with his labors 
and wounds, so when he developed fever {"unas calenturas"), 
he quickly succumbed, having first received the sacrament as a 
Catholic Christian. They buried him in the great Church, 
whence afterwards his son, dean at Santo Domingo, and later 
bishop of Porto Rico, carried his body to Santo Domingo and 
reinterred it in the sumptuous chapel of the Cathedral in that 
city. 

Early the following year Guzman made an inventory (still in 
existence) of the effects belonging to Bastidas at the lodging- 
house kept by Jeronimo de Alanis, notary public, and sent the 
list to the Royal Audience in the city of Santo Domingo, where 
the gold was deposited in the chest of the three keys. 

In the meantime, the Royal Audience at Santo Domingo had 
despatched Pedro Vadillo, licenciado, to rule Santa Marta, 
en interin. Vadillo took for his lieutenant Don Pedro de 
Heredia, 

In 1528, Charles V. appointed Garcia de Lerma Governor 

one hundred twenty-four 



DB BASTIDAS 

of Santa Marta. Lerma soon died, and the Audiencia at 
Santo Domingo again filled the office by naming Don Alonso 
Enriquez de Guzman and the Licentiate Infante. 

In 1535, the Emperor made Don Pedro Fernandez de Lugo, 
Adelantado of the Canaries, Governor of Santa Marta, with 
succession to his son, Don Alonso Luis de Lugo. With a large 
armada, including a force of eleven hundred persons, Lugo 
arrived at Santa Marta and continued the conquest and settle- 
ment of that province. 

On the 22d of December, 1528, Don Rodrigo de Bastidas, 
legitimate son of the late Governor of Santa Marta, and dean 
of the holy church at Santo Domingo, presented a petition to 
the president and judges of the Audience praying that the 
services of his father be recognized, and that the estate be 
settled for the benefit of his widow and sons. Among the 
many witnesses in this hearing there appeared in January, 1529, 
Caspar de Espinosa, who had won renown in Panama and was 
then residing at Santo Domingo. 

This famous Conquistador, who discovered so many leagues 
of American coast, is not even mentioned in the bulky ency- 
clopedias of today. If, in accordance with the custom of his 
time, Bastidas did enslave the Indians, yet he ever treated them 
humanely, and gave up his life at last to protect them from 
outrage. Within the old cathedral in the city of Santo 
Domingo is a chapel called the rapilla del Adelantado Rodrigo 
de Bastides, wherein are interred, not far from the alleged 
restos of Columbus, the remains of Bastidas and his family. 
Thus the ashes of the two discoverers of the Isthmus of 
Panama rest beneath the same roof in the old capital of the 
Indies. 

Of Bastidas, the eloquent Quintana has said: "Bastidas no se hizo 
celebre ni como descubridor ni como conquistador; pero su memoria 
debe ser grata a todos los amantes de la justicia y de la humanidad, 
pof haber sido uno de los pocos que trataron a los indios con equidad 
y mansedumbre, considerando aquel pais mas bien como un objeto de 
especulaciones mercantiles con iguales, que como campo de gloria y 
de conquistas." j re • u 

The license granted Bastidas to discover new lands and traffic with 
the natives, is yet preserved in the Archivo de Indias. As showing the 
character of the document, the following summary is presented. 

"El Rey e la Reina, E^l asiento qu^ se tomo por nuestro mandadocon 
vos Rodrigo de Bastidas, vecino de la ciudad de Sevilla, para ir a 
descobrir por el mar Oceano, con dos navios, es lo siguiente: — it goes 
on to state, First, that we give license to you, the said Rodrigo de 
Bastidas, that with two vessels of your own, and at your own cost and 
risk, you may go by the said Ocean Sea to discover, and you may 

one-hundred twenty-five 



DON RODRIGO 

discover islands and firm land; in the parts of the Indies and in any 
other parts, provided it be not the islands and firm land already dis- 
covered by the Admiral Don Cristobal Colon, our admiral of the Ocean 
Sea, or by Cristobal Guerra ; nor those which have been or may be 
discovered by other person or persons by our order and with our 
license before you ; nor the islands and firm land which belong to the 
most serene prince, the King of Portugal, our very dear and beloved 
son ; for from them nor from any of them you shall not take any- 
thing, save only such things as for your maintenance, and for the 
provision of your ships and crew you may need. Furthermore, that all 
the gold, and silver, and copper, and lead, and tin, and quicksilver, and 
any other metal whatever, and aljofar, and pearls, and precious stones 
and jewels, and slaves and negroes, and mixed breeds, which in these 
our kingdoms may be held and reputed as slaves ; and monsters and 
serpents, and whatever other animals and fishes and birds, and spices 
and drugs, and every other thing of whatsoever name or quality or 
value it may be; deducting therefrom the freight expenses, and cost of 
vessels, which in said voyage and fleet may be made; of the remainder 
to us will belong the fourth part of the whole, and the other three- 
fourths may be freely for you, the said Rodrigo de Bastidas, that you 
may do therewith as you choose and may be pleased to do, as a thing 
of your own, free and unincumbered. Item, that we will place in each 
one of the said ships one or two persons, who in our name or by our 
order shall be witnesses to all which may be obtained and trafficked in 
said vessels of the aforesaid things ; and that they may put the same in 
writing and keep a book and account thereof, so that no fraud or mis- 
take happen.' After stating further under whose direction the ships 
should be fitted out, and what should be done on the return of the 
expedition, the document is dated at Seville, June 5, 1500, and the 
signatures follow : Yo El Rev. Yo La Reina. For mandado del 
Rey e de la Reina, Caspar De Grizio.'. All this under penalty of the 
forfeiture of the property and life of the captain of the expedition, 
Rodrigo de Bastidas. Archive de Indicts, printed in Pacheco and 
Cardenas, Col. Doc, ii. 362-6. 



one hundred twenty-six 



CHAPTER VIII 



TIERRA FIRME 

Comprising Nueva Andalucia and Castilla del Oro. 

THE GOVERNORS ALONSO DE OJEDA AND DIEGO DE NICUESA, 
Rivals in Fame and Rivals in Misfortune 

"Do you know the blue of the Carib Sea, 
Far out where there's nothing but sky to bound 
The gaze to windward, the glance to lee, — 
More deep than the bluest spaces be 
Betwixt white clouds in heaven's round? 
Have you seen the liquid lazuli spread 
From edge to edge, so wondrous blue 
That your footfall's trust it might almost woo. 
Were it smooth and low for one to tread? 
So clear and warm, so bright, so dark. 
That he who looks on it can but mark 
'Tis a different tide from the far-away 
Perpetual waters, old and gfray, 
And can but wonder if Mother Farth 
Has given a younger ocean birth." 

Fdmund C. Stedman. 

>N a general way, the entire coast-line to the 
south and west of Hispaniola was called 
Tierra Firme, firm land, or mainland, and 
believed to be a part of the continent of Asia. 
No passage through it had been found, but 
all believed that a strait existed, leading to 
the ocean south of India. After a few years 
the term Tierra Firme came to be applied 
more particularly to the Isthmus and the 
region east of the Gulf of Uraba (Darien). 
When the politic Ferdinand began to realize 
the magnitude and wealth of the new lands added to Castile, 
he did not renew the powerful office of Viceroy of the Indies, 
which might rival and endanger his own authority, and of 
which he had defrauded Columbus. He now treated the West 
Indies (which at that time meant also the mainland) as 
appendages to the Crown, and exploited them as personal 
possessions of the Sovereign. He gave licenses to trade at 
certain parts, and commissions to look for new lands ; and the 
older regions were divided into provinces, over which gov- 

one hundred tzventy-seven 




TIBRRA 

ernors and other officers were appointed for limited periods. 
Colonies were planted by private enterprise ; and when pensions 
and rewards were granted the money was to come, as in the 
case of Bastidas, from the future earnings of the colony. 

The riches of the Pearl Coast and of Veragua, reported by 
Columbus, being confirmed by subsequent voyages, Ferdinand 
resolved to settle and develop Tierra Firme ; and looked around 
for a capable governor. The Admiral having died in 1506, 
the choice, by right, should have fallen upon his brother 
Bartolome — still Adelantado of the Indies — who had proved 
himself so efficient both as navigator and administrator. 

In 1508, Don Diego Colon, eldest son and heir of Columbus, 
brought suit before the Council of the Indies for restoration of 
the offices and privileges given in the capitulations between 
their Highnesses and the Admiral. The case was yet pending, 
and the wily monarch was loath to grant any more rights to a 
family that might, in time, become too powerful. 

The friends of Alonso de Ojeda urged his appointment to 
the new governorship. He was without funds, but his friend, 
the veteran pilot, Juan de la Cosa, offered to fit out the expedi- 
tion, and even went from Hispaniola to Spain to promote the 
claim of Ojeda. Alonso de Ojeda, as we have seen, was the 
first to follow Columbus to South America, in 1499. He took 
with him Juan de la Cosa, and also Amerigo Vespucci, the 
Florentine, whose name, by a singular caprice of fortune, ha^ 
been given to the whole of the New World. The statement 
that Ojeda was the first to reach the Isthmus of Panama, in 
1499, probably arose from the fact that Columbus called Paria 
and the Pearl Coast, Tierra Firme, and the name extended 
along the whole northern coast of South America, including 
the Isthmus, and even up the shores of Central America. 
There is no reliable evidence that Ojeda's voyage of 1499 
extended farther west than Cape Vela. 

In January, 1502, Ojeda made a second voyage to Tierra Firme, 
with authority to colonize Coquibacoa, which he had discovered 
on his first voyage and named the Gulf of Venezuela (Little 
Venice), because on its eastern shore was an Indian village, 
of twenty large bell-shaped houses, built on piles driven into 
the bottom of the gulf. On his first voyage, Ojeda had met 
with English adventurers in this region, and King Ferdinand 
wanted a bold and quarrelsome commander who would hold 
the country for Spain. Ojeda, with his associates, Juan de 
Vergara and Garcia de Campos, sailed by Paria and came to 
Cumana, where they robbed the natives and carried off such 
of the women as pleased their fancy. Arriving at the Gulf of 

one hundred twenty-eight 



PIRMB 

Venezuela, they found the land so sterile that they continued 
westward to a bay which Ojeda called Santa Cruz, supposed 
to be the Bahia Honda of today. Here they found a Spaniard 
who had been left in the province of Citarma by Bastidas, about 
thirteen months before. 

The Indians at Santa Cruz fought the Spaniards, but the 
latter succeeded in building a fortress from which they made 
forays into the adjacent territory. Provisions failed, and 
Ojeda's people became discontented, and insinuated that he 
had not settled on his own lands, but in the country discov- 
ered by Rodrigo de Bastidas. Alonso de Ojeda was not the 
man to share authority with his partners, so Vergara and 
Campos (often called Ocampo) placed him in irons, and all 
hands abandoned Santa Cruz and sailed for St. Domingo. 
To be accurate, this was the first attempt by the Spaniards to 
populate the mainland of America, as it preceded, by nearly a 
year, the effort of Columbus to settle at Belen. Details of the 
expedition are wanting, but I am inclined to think that Ojeda 
deserves more credit for this undertaking than is usually ac- 
corded him. 

Herrera relates an incident which well illustrates the 
daring and foolhardiness of Ojeda. While at anchor off the 
western end of Hispaniola, Ojeda, with feet shackled, quietly 
dropped into the sea and attempted to swim to land. His 
weighty irons threatened to sink him, so the venturesome Gov- 
ernor cried for help, and was ignominiously dragged aboard. 
Ojeda was tried before the chief judge at St. Domingo, about 
the end of September, 1502, found guilty, and despoiled of his 
property. He appealed to the King, and the following year 
was honorably acquitted of all the charges ; but, as Irving well 
says, "like too many other litigants, he finally emerged from the 
labyrinths of the law a triumphant client, but a ruined man." 

Despite his loss of property, Ojeda did not lack friends, in 
1509, to help him secure the governorship of Tierra Firme. 
With the powerful influence of Fonseca and the financial back- 
ing of La Cosa, no doubt he would have succeeded, had not 
another worthy candidate appeared. This was Diego de 
Nicuesa, an accomplished courtier, who had been reared in the 
household of Don Enrique Enriquez, uncle of the King. He 
went to Hispaniola in the train of Governor Ovando, acquired 
wealth, and was now in Spain on a mission concerning the 
encomiendas. 

Both Ojeda and his rival, Nicuesa, were small, but very 
muscular men, full of daring and energy, and in the prime of 
manhood. Both were skilled in the use of arms and in knightly 

One hundred twenty-nine 



riBRRA 

exercises. Las Casas tells of a favorite mare belonging to 
Nicuesa which he could make prance and caper in unison with 
the music of a viol. With characteristic kingcraft, Ferdi- 
nand decided to appoint both men, and arranged conditions so 
as to foster jealousy between them instead of helpful coopera- 
tion. Tierra Firme was divided into two parts, separated by 
the Gulf of Uraba (Darien). The region extending eastward 
to Cabo de la Vela was called Nueva Andalucia (New Anda- 
lusia), and given to Ojeda. The land west and north of the 
Gulf of Uraba as far as Cape Gracias a Dios was named by 
the King Castilla del Oro (Golden Castile), and assigned to 
Nicuesa. The governors were appointed for four years, and 
their supplies were to be free of duties. Each had the exclu- 
sive right to work all mines in his district for ten years, 
paying an increasing tithe of the profits to the Crown, begin- 
ning with one-tenth part the first year. In addition, each 
Governor was required to erect two fortresses in his district. 

Juan de la Cosa was appointed lieutenant to Ojeda, and 
made Alguacil Mayor of the eastern province. He engaged 
vessels and supplies in Spain, and sailed to meet his chief in 
San Domingo. 

Nicuesa, being the richer, prepared a larger expedition, and 
also sailed for Hispaniola. On the way over he stopped at 
Santa Cruz (one of the Caribbee islands), and stole a hundred 
so-called cannibals, to be sold as slaves in Hispaniola. Both 
outfits arrived at the town of St. Domingo about the same time, 
and the rival governors had many disputes over their adjoining 
grants, in which the more polished Nicuesa had the advantage 
of the hot-headed Ojeda. The latter was for settling their 
differences with the sword, but Juan de la Cosa managed to 
pacify them. The governors quarreled again over their divid- 
ing line, and La Cosa decided it should be the middle of the 
Gulf of Uraba and the Atrato (Darien) river. Since the 
death of Columbus, La Cosa was Spain's ablest pilot and car- 
tographer in the Indies, and his decision could not be ques- 
tioned. 

As the result of his lawsuit, and more especially of his 
marriage to the influential Dona Maria de Toledo, niece of the 
Duke of Alva, Don Diego Colon was awarded the governor- 
ship of Hispaniola ; and Ovando was recalled. About the 
middle of the year 1509, Governor Diego Colon arrived at 
Santo Domingo with his wife, his brother Don Fernando, and 
his two uncles, Don Bartolome and Don Diego. The new 
Governor of Hispaniola was accompanied by a large retinue 
of cavaliers and ladies of rank, and he established the first 

One hundred thirty 



FIRMB 

vice-regal court in the New World, where but a few years 
before the naked red man roamed in barbarian freedom. 
Governor Colon was much aggrieved that he was not given the 
vice-royalty in succession to his father, with dominion over 
Tierra Firme. He opposed the recruiting of Spaniards and 
Indians in Hispaniola by Ojeda and Nicuesa; and resented the 
allotment to them of the island of Jamaica as a place to obtain 
provisions. Instead of simply protesting to the King, Colon 
despatched Juan de Esquivel, with seventy men, to take posses- 
sion of that island, and to hold it subject to his command. 
Before sailing, Ojeda heard of this movement, and swore that 
if he ever found Esquivel on Jamaica he would strike off his 
head. 

Among the lawyers at St. Domingo, was the Bachiller Martin 
Fernandez de Encisco, who had already accumulated two 
thousand castellanos from his practice; "for it would appear 
that the spirit of litigation was one of the first fruits of civilized 
life transplanted to the New World, and flourished surprisingly 
among the Spanish colonists." Ojeda promised to make him 
Alcalde Mayor, or chief judge of his province; and the 
speculative bachelor of law put all his savings in the expedition. 
They agreed that Ojeda should go ahead to Nueva Andalucia, 
while the Bachiller would remain in St. Domingo to secure 
recruits and supplies, and follow his chief in a vessel purchased 
by himself. 

Ojeda was the first of the rival governors to get away. He 
sailed from St. Domingo on the loth of November, 1509, with 
two ships, two brigantines, 300 men, and 12 brood-mares. 
Among the adventurers who embarked with Ojeda was an 
illiterate soldier, by name Francisco Pizarro, who became 
famous as the conqueror of Peru. Another native of Estre- 
madura, Hernando Cortes, was also in St. Domingo at this 
time, and intended to accompany Nicuesa; but was forced to 
remain in Hispaniola by reason of an abscess in the thigh of the 
right leg. In 151 1, Cortes went with Diego Velasquez to Cuba ; 
from whence, in 15 19, he departed for the conquest of Mexico. 

Nicuesa, having a larger expedition, and the rich Veragua in 
his province, attracted more followers than Ojeda. He selected 
Lope de Olano, an associate of Roldan in his rebellion against 
Columbus, to be his captain general. Nicuesa was lavish in his 
expenditures, and before his departure was besieged by credi- 
tors. When stepping in the boat to go aboard his ship, he was 
arrested for a debt of five hundred ducats and carried before 
the alcalde. Nicuesa did not have the money and was in a con- 
dition of despair ; when a public notary, touched by his distress, 

One hundred thirty-one 



TIBRRA 

stepped forward and paid the bill. With tears of gratitude, 
the governor embraced his deliverer, and hurriedly put to sea. 
Nicuesa sailed about ten days after Ojeda, with seven vessels, 
carrying eight hundred men and six horses. 

Meanwhile, Ojeda, well pleased that he had gotten the start 
of his rival, arrived safely at Terra Firma ; and, about the 
fifth day after leaving St. Domingo, entered the bay, where, in 
1531, was founded the present city of Cartagena. Juan de la 
Cosa, who, with Bastidas, in 1501, was the first to visit this 
place, warned his commander not to make an entrance here, 
but to continue on to the Gulf of Uraba, where the natives were 
not so warlike, and did not use poisoned arrows. The rash 
Ojeda would not heed the advice of his Mentor, La Cosa, but 
landed a large force and advanced against an Indian village 
called Calamar (or Caramari). He ordered the friars with him 
to read aloud a ridiculous document, drawn up by profound 
jurists and pious divines in Spain, filled with subtle sophistry 
to excuse the crimes they were about to commit upon the 
natives. In it the Catholic Kings of Castile claimed Tierra- 
firme by gift from the Pope, and required speedy submission 
of the inhabitants, with dire threats and punishments for 
refusal. {Vide Appendix.) 

The Indians, of course, did not understand a single word of 
this extraordinary manifesto; and, as the Spaniards continued 
to advance, brandished their weapons and let fly a shower of 
arrows. La Cosa entreated the governor to abandon these hos- 
tile shores, but Ojeda, invoking the protection of the Virgin, 
charged the people and captured the town. Some of the 
Indians were killed, and seventy captives sent on the ships. On 
their persons were found plates of the inferior gold, called 
guanin. In spite of the remonstrance of his lieutenant, Ojeda 
pursued the fugitives for four leagues into the interior. In 
the evening he came to a large town called Turbaco, which the 
inhabitants had deserted. While the Spaniards were divided, 
looting the houses which were scattered among the trees, they 
were assailed by troops of Indians and nearly all killed. The 
women of this region joined with the men in defending their 
homes, and were particularly expert in throwing a lance called 
the azagay. La Cosa, with a few others, went to the assistance 
of their commander, and for a time they held the enemy at 
bay from behind a palisade. Suddenly, the impetuous Ojeda 
sprang forth like a tiger, dealing blows on every side. The 
faithful Biscayan would have followed, but was already crip- 
pled by his wounds. He and the few remaining men took 

One hundred thirty-two 



FIRMB 

refuge in a shack, the roof of which they threw off, lest the 
enemy should set it on fire. Here they defended themselves 
until only La Cosa and one other were left alive. Feeling 
himself dying from the subtle poison in his wounds, the brave 
La Cosa said to his companion : "Brother, since God hath pro- 
tected thee from harm, sally forth and fly; and if ever thou 
shouldst see Alonso de Ojeda, tell him of my fate." 

Thus perished Juan de la Cosa, from the effects of those 
envenomed weapons against which he had ineffectually 
warned his commander. Aside from his eminence as a navi- 
gator, he will be remembered for his honesty, faithfulness, and 
generous traits of character. La Cosa is one of the few among 
the Conquistadores who win our affection as well as our admir- 
ation. The Spaniard who told the story of his death was the 
sole survivor of seventy or more men who went with their 
governor. 

As for Ojeda, being small and active, as well as powerful, he 
was able to protect himself with his buckler from the deadly 
arrows, and succeeded in cutting his way through the Indians, 
and escaped in the darkness. When day broke, he concealed 
himself in the jungle, and that night wandered back towards 
his ships. ^ After some days, a searching party from the fleet 
found Ojeda, exhausted and speechless, lying upon some 
matted mangrove roots by the margin of the sea. His sword 
was in his hand, and his buckler, still attached to his shoulders, 
bore the marks of three hundred arrows. They warmed his 
body by a fire, and gave him wine and food, so that he was soon 
able to tell his story. As usual, he had received no wound, and 
he considered his miraculous escape as another proof of the 
special protection of the Virgin. 

While the Spaniards were yet on shore nursing their com- 
mander back to^ life and strength, the ships of Nicuesa entered 
the harbor. Ojeda was ashamed to be seen in his sad plight, 
and feared that his rival would call upon him to defend his 
challenge ; so begged his men to leave him alone on the shore, 
and to tell Nicuesa that he was on an expedition into the coun- 
try. Nicuesa, however, heard the true account of what had 
happened, and was indignant that they should even imagine 
that he could take advantage of his present superiority to 
revenge himself for past disputes. When they met, Nicuesa 
received Ojeda with open arms. "It is not," said he, "for 
Hidalgos, like men of vulgar souls, to remember past differ- 
ences when they behold one another in distress. Henceforth, 
let all that has occurred between us be forgotten. Command 

One hundred . thirty three 



TIBRRA 

me as a brother. Myself and my men are at your orders, to 
follow you wherever you please, until the death of Juan de la 
Cosa and his conrades are revenged." 

The two governors united their forces, and landed four hun- 
dred men and several horses; proclaiming that no quarter 
should be given the Indians. They came upon Turbaco at 
night, and, though the parrots in the woods made a prodigious 
clamor, took the people by surprise. The houses were set on 
fire, and the men, women and children slain as they ran out. 
When the flying women, with children in their arms, beheld 
the horses and armor-clad Spaniards, they shrieked with terror, 
and rushed back into the flames. The body of the unfortunate 
Juan de la Cosa was found tied to a tree. It was so horribly 
swollen and discolored that his countrymen would not remain 
at that place over night. The ruins of the village were searched 
and the dead Indians robbed of their ornaments, with the result 
that considerable booty was obtained ; the share of Nicuesa and 
his men amounting to seven thousand castellanos. Well satis- 
fied with their work, the reconciled governors parted in great 
amity; and Nicuesa sailed away for the rich Veragua and his 
Golden Castile. 

All too late, Ojeda took the advice of his dead lieutenant, 
and gave up all thoughts of colonizing at Calamar. Steering 
westward along the shore, and capturing Indians for slaves, 
he entered the gulf of Uraba. He sought the river of Darien 
(Atrato), discovered early in 1501 by Bastidas and La Cosa, 
because it was the western limit of his domain, and was famed 
among the Indians as abounding in gold. The river was not 
found, probably because it empties itself not at the head of the 
gulf, but by a number of mouths on the west shore. 

Failing to find the Darien river, Ojeda disembarked his expe- 
dition on the east side of the gulf, and erected, on an elevation, 
a wooden fortress and houses, surrounding the whole with a 
stockade. He named his embryo capital San Sebastian, in 
honor of the arrow-martyred saint whose protection he craved 
from the venomous darts of the natives. This was the third 
attempt at settlement on the Tierra-firme ; the first being Santa 
Cruz on Bahia Honda, and the second that of Belen in Veragua. 
Ojeda sent a ship to Santo Domingo, with his slaves and 
stolen gold ; and by it, a letter to his alcalde mayor, the Bachiller 
Encisco, urging him to hasten on with recruits and provisions. 

When the governor had completed his new town, he started 
out with an armed force to visit a neighboring cacique ; a cour- 
tesy that was instigated largely by the reputed wealth of the 

One hundred thirty-four 



PIRMB 

chieftain. The latter had heard of these friendly visits by 
the white men, and resolved that they should not reach his 
village. He placed his warriors along the trail, and assailed 
the Spaniards with such flights of arrows that they retreated 
in confusion, leaving many of their number to die in the jungle. 
So great was their dread of the poisoned arrows that Ojeda 
found great difficulty in getting his men to leave the protection 
of the stockade. At night they heard the screams of tigers and 
other beasts about San Sebastian ; and when they ventured out 
into the thickets they encountered the deadly darts of the 
natives, or large and venomous serpents. Herrera relates that 
an enormous alligator seized one of their horses by the leg and 
dragged the animal beneath the water. 

It took the Spaniards some time to realize that the natives 
of Tierra Firme differed materially from the timid Arawaks of 
Hispaniola. These Indians were altogether or partly of Carib 
stock, and, whether on sea or land, were the fiercest fighters 
in the Americas. They ambuscaded all foraging parties and 
actually besieged the garrison. The sentinel of San Sebastian 
was often found dead at his post in the morning. Provisions 
were nearly all consumed, and the colonists were dying of 
wounds and disease. When the dusky warriors surrounded the 
settlement and brandished their weapons in defiance, the gover- 
nor was always the first to sally forth; and it is said that he 
slew more Indians with his single arm than all his followers 
together. The quick-witted natives saw that Ojeda was the head 
and front of the invaders, and planned an ambush to discover 
if he really bore a charmed life, as they had heard. A number 
of warriors advanced on San Sebastian, sounding their conchs 
and drums, and uttering yells of defiance. When Ojeda rushed 
out, they retreated to the place where four of their best bow- 
men were concealed. Three arrows struck his shield and 
glanced harmlessly off, but the fourth pierced his thigh. 

This was the first wound that Alonso de Ojeda had ever 
received in battle, and he was not only alarmed at the poisonous 
nature of it, but felt despondent that the Holy Virgin had 
withdrawn her protection from him. Nevertheless, he did not 
lose his courage, but proceeded to apply heroic treatment. A 
prominent symptom of these poisoned wounds was a feeling 
of cold in the part affected, so Ojeda caused two iron plates to 
be made red hot, and ordered his surgeon to apply one to each 
orifice of the wound. The surgeon shuddered and refused, 
saying he did not wish to murder his general. Ojeda swore 
that his general would hang him unless he obeyed; and the 

One hundred thirty-five 



TIBRRA 

doctor, to avoid the gallows, applied the glowing plates. Ac- 
cording to the good Bishop Las Casas, the cold poison was con- 
sumed by the vivid fire, and the governor recovered from his 
wound; but the cauterization induced such a fever that they 
had to wrap him in sheets steeped in vinegar, using an entire 
barrel of it for this purpose. 

When the early Spaniards could not force food and labor 
from the Indians, they generally starved. Afraid to rob the 
natives, eating herbs and roots for sustenance, and much de- 
pressed at the disability of their commander, the miserable 
colony at San Sebastian waited the coming of Encisco. One 
day a ship came to anchor in the gulf, but it was not that of the 
Bachiller Encisco. The vessel was commanded by Bernardino 
de Talavera, a renegade debtor from Hispaniola. He was at 
St. Domingo when Ojeda's ship returned with the slaves and 
gold, tangible evidence of the richness of the colony. Under- 
standing Ojeda to be in need of recruits, Talavera gathered 
together a band of worthless adventurers, like himself, and 
watched for an opportunity to go to San Sebastian. Fortune 
often favors knaves for a time, as if to lure them on to destruc- 
tion. At Cape Tiburon, Hispaniola, was a vessel, belonging to 
some Genoese, loading with bacon and cassava bread. Tala- 
vera's gang, about seventy in number, made their way secretly 
to Cape Tiburon, overpowered the crew of the ship, and more 
by luck than seamanship, arrived at San Sebastian. Father 
Charlevoix thinks it was a special providence which guided 
this shipload of food to the colonists just when they were on 
the brink of starvation. 

Talavera demanded gold for his provisions, to which Ojeda 
acceded, glad to get them at any price. The governor dealt out 
the new supplies so sparingly that his companions murmured, 
and even accused their leader of reserving an undue share for 
himself. The ancient chroniclers think there may have been 
some truth in this charge, as Ojeda was haunted by a presenti- 
ment that he should eventually die of hunger. 

When these supplies were exhausted, and no Encisco had 
appeared, the discontented colonists plotted to seize one of the 
vessels in the harbor and sail for Hispaniola. The governor 
heard of this plan and resolved to go himself; and such was 
their belief in his ability, that they felt sure relief would be 
forthcoming. Ojeda made an agreement with his people that, 
if within fifty days they did not hear from him, they were at 
liberty to abandon the place, and embark in the remaining ves- 
sels for Hispaniola or elsewhere. The governor appointed as 

One hundred thirty-six 



FIRMB 

his lieutenant, to command until the arrival of Encisco, Fran- 
cisco Pizarro, a name now first appearing in history. With a 
few attendants, Ojeda departed on the ship of Talavera and his 
crew, who preferred the risk of returning to Hispaniola to the 
famine and poisoned arrows of Tierra Firme. 

The domineering governor assumed the command as a matter 
of course, while Talavera, who had stolen the ship, maintained 
his claim with equal stubborness ; with the result that Ojeda 
found himself again returning to Hispaniola in chains. When 
a storm arose, the ruffianly land-lubbers took off his irons on 
condition that he would pilot the vessel. In spite of his skill 
as a mariner, the equatorial currents bore them west of His- 
paniola, and the vessel ran aground on the south coast of Cuba, 
near the port of Xagua. All hands landed in safety, and started 
for the eastern end of the island, from which they hoped to 
cross over to Haiti (Hispaniola). 

Cuba (now called Juana) was not yet colonized by the whites. 
Many fugitive Indians sought refuge here from their cruel 
taskmasters on Hispaniola, and these excited the Cubans to 
hostilities against the Spaniards. The cut-throat gang now 
looked to Ojeda as their commander, and he led them away 
from the villages, through which they had to fight their way, 
and sought a passage through the lowlands. They wandered 
into an immense swamp, said to be thirty leagues in extent, 
through which the party waded and floundered for thirty days! 
The water about them was briny, their scant supply of food 
spoiled, and at night they slept on the twisted roots of the man- 
groves, which grew in clusters throughout the morass. Ojeda 
still carried his little image of the Virgin Mary, which he would 
often hang upon the bushes, and kneel before in prayer. When 
their condition seemed hopeless, he made a vow to erect a 
shrine and leave the image at the first Indian village they came 
to, if the Virgin would conduct them out of their peril. 

After losing about thirty-five of his seventy men, from ex- 
haustion and drowning, Ojeda arrived at the village of Cueyba, 
or Cuebas, where the Indians washed them, supplied meat and 
drink, and exhibited the kindest humanity. True to his vow, 
Ojeda built a little hermitage in the hamlet, and placed his 
precious image over the altar, explaining to the cacique, as best 
he could, the story of the Mother of Christ, while the Spaniards 
recuperated at Cueyba. Las Casas tells us that the natives 
almost worshipped them, "as if they had been angels;" very 
good evidence that none of their countrymen had preceded 
them to this place. 

One hundred thirty-seven 



TIBRRA 

A few years later, when the Clerigo (as Las Casas calls 
himself) and Pamphilo de Narvaez came to Cueyba, they 
found the image left by Ojeda held in great reverence by the 
natives, who had constructed an ornamented chapel about it. 
The Indians composed native couplets, called areitos, in honor 
of the Virgin, which they sang to sweet melodies, accompanied 
by dancing. As the painting was also held in repute by the 
Spaniards, the Clerigo offered another picture of the Virgin in 
exchange for it; which so alarmed the cacique that he fled by 
night with the sacred image, and did not return until after the 
departure of the white men. 

The kind cacique and his people helped the Spaniards to 
reach Cape de la Cruz, in the province of Macaca, a region 
visited by Columbus, From here, Ojeda sent Diego Ordaz 
in a canoe to Jamaica, to beg assistance of Juan de Esquivel, 
whose head he had threatened, with so much bluster, to strike 
off. Esquivel immediately despatched a vessel over to Cuba, 
commanded by Pamphilo de Narvaez, who thus courteously 
addressed the fallen governor: "Senor Ojeda, will your wor- 
ship please to come hither ; we have to take you on board." The 
unfortunate man replied with a proverb expressive of his 
changed condition, "Mi remo no rema" — my oar rows not. 
When Ojeda reached Jamaica he was tenderly cared for by 
Esquivel, and furnished transportation to St. Domingo. Gover- 
nor Diego Colon despatched a party of soldiers to Jamaica to 
arrest Talavera and his gang, and bring them in chains to St. 
Domingo. They were tried for piracy, and, in 151 1, Talavera 
and his principal accomplices were hanged. 

Ojeda arrived at St. Domingo long after the fifty days set 
for his return to San Sebastian. Encisco had already left with 
supplies for the colony, and nothing had since been heard from 
him. Ojeda endeavored to enlist another force to go to his 
province, but the disasters attending his colonists were too well 
known. His name was no longer one to conjure with, and, 
very naturally, Diego Colon would not assist another to seize 
a province which he claimed as his own. One incident occurred 
which reminds one of the Ojeda of old. One night he was set 
upon by a lot of ruffians — probably some of the Talavera gang 
against whom he had testified at their trial — and he not only 
beat them off, but chased the miscreants through the streets of 
St. Domingo. In 15 13, and again in 15 15, Ojeda gave deposi- 
tions in the case of Diego Colon against the Crown. 

Broken in health, spirit, and fortune, Alonso de Ojeda soon 
died. Gomara, the historian of the Indies, affirms that a few 

One hundred thirty-eight 



PIRMB 

hours before his death he became a Franciscan monk, and 
died in the habit of that order. Being too poor to provide for 
his interment, Ojeda begged that his body might be buried just 
beyond the threshold of the church in the monastery of San 
Francisco, "that every one who entered might tread upon his 
grave." 

"Never," says Charlevoix, in his history of St. Domingo, 
"was man more suited for a coup-de-main, or to achieve and 
suffer great things under the direction of another; none had a 
heart more lofty, or ambition more aspiring; none ever took 
less heed of fortune, or showed greater firmness of soul, or 
found more resources in his own courage; but none was less 
calculated to be commander-in-chief of a great enterprise. 
Good management and good fortune forever failed him." 

Several daring feats are related of Alonso de Ojeda. One day when 
Queen Isabella was visiting the Giralda tower, at Seville, Ojeda, who 
was an officer of the guard, gave proof of his courageand strength in 
a singular manner. Armed as he was at the time, Ojeda walked out 
upon a beam which projected about twenty feet, near the top of the 
tower, and upon reaching the end of it, he stood on one leg, raising the 
other in the air. Then turning nimbly, the young cavalier walked back 
to the wall, and with one foot on the beam and the other placed against 
the tower, he drew an orange from his pocket and threw it over the 
figure of Giralda, on the summit of the building. 

What would that old sea-dog, Juan de la Cosa, as well as Francis 
Drake, the Buccaneer Chiefs, and commanders of the guarda-costas 
think of the following, penned by a naval officer in 1871. After anchor- 
ing his warship near Isla del Muertos, in the Gulf of Uraba, the 
captain writes : "Ours was the first ship whose keel had ever plowed 
these waters, and thoughts could but arise whether this magnificent bay 
was destined ever to remain grand in solitude as well as proportions ; 
or, would it one day be covered with sails from every clime? To the 
West stretched the great delta of the Atrato, covered with its dense 
vegetation, bounded by the blue outline of the Cordilleras ; to the East 
were the high hills of the Antioquian range, rising from the very 
shores of the bay; while just visible above the horizon to the South 
were the tops of the trees that skirt the bottom of the bay. This bay, 
so magnificent in its dimensions, so uniform in its soundings, and 
tranquil as an inland sea, I named Columbia. Numerous small streams 
empty into it on the East side, and at the foot of the bay is the Leon 
river, the largest of them all, which rises in a spur of the Antioquia 
Mountains, and is said to be navigable many miles for steamboats. The 
small town of Pisisi, or Turbo, is the only habitable spot, containing 
about four hundred inhabitants." 



One hundred thirty-nine 



CHAPTER IX 



DIEGO DE NICUESA 

First Governor of the Isthmus 




"An epic quest it was of elder years, 
For fabled gardens or for good red gold. 
The trail men strove in iron days of old." 

Richard Burton. 

AVING followed Alonso de Ojeda, the first 
governor of Nueva Andalucia, literally to the 
bitter end of his life, we yet have three parties 
to account for, viz: the colony at San Sebas- 
tian in Uraba; Encisco and recruits on the 
way to San Sebastian; and Diego de Nicuesa 
and his expedition. We will first relate the 
fortunes of the rival governor, and shall find 
that Nicuesa fared no better than did Ojeda. 
When the two governors separated in the 
port of Calamar (Cartagena), Nicuesa kept on 
to the west, passing the gulf of Uraba (the 
eastern boundary of his province) until he came to the district 
of Cueva. Here the fleet anchored in a harbor, into which 
flowed a stream called the Pito, The Spaniards landed and 
said mass, the first on the Isthmus, and hence named the place 
Puerto de Misas. This was opposite the Mulatas, near where 
Santa Cruz was established a few years later. Leaving his 
largest ships at Misas under command of his relative, Cueto, 
Nicuesa continued on to the westward in a caravel, with sixty 
men, to find the rich Veragua and fix on a place for his capital. 
He was attended by his lieutenant. Lope de Olano, and thirty 
men in a brigantine. Somewhere off the coast of Veragua, the 
two vessels ran into a storm, and to avoid danger at night, put 
out to sea. 

When morning dawned, Nicuesa found himself alone, and 
feared that the brigantine had perished. He returned to the 
land and coasted to the west until he came to a large river, 
which he entered and came to anchor. The stream, which had 
been swollen by the rains, suddenly subsided, causing the caravel 



One hundred forty-one 



DIBGO DB 

to fall on its side and begin to go to pieces. A brave seaman 
attempted to carry a line ashore, but was swept away by the 
rushing current and drowned. Another sailor, undismayed by 
the fate of his comrade, plunged into the water and succeeded 
in making the line fast to a tree, over which the crew passed 
safely to land. The boat was saved, and a barrel of flour and 
cask of oil drifted ashore and were secured. This disaster left 
them without arms, and with but little food, on a strange and 
inhospitable shore; and if the brigatine was not lost, the 
despairing ones claimed that the old rebel, Olano, had deserted 
them. 

The governor determined to continue to the westward, where 
he believed Veragua to lie, trusting to find his lieutenant already 
at the site of his intended government. The jungle was too 
dense to travel inland, so Nicuesa, with most of his men, fol- 
lowed the shore; while Diego de Ribero and three companions 
went by sea in the boat, keeping within hail of their chief. For 
days these miserable men, half dead with fatigue and hunger, 
struggled through swamps and across rivers mistakenly seeking 
Veragua in the west. When they came to a large stream or 
inlet of the sea, Ribero would carry them over in his boat. 
Most of the party were without shoes, and their food consisted 
of palm-buds, roots and shell-fish. Only those familiar with 
the mangrove swamps of the Caribbean, the sultry heat and 
torrential rains of the tropics, and the myriads of insects which 
bite and sting by day and night, can fully appreciate the suffer- 
ing and horror of Nicuesa's journey in the lowlands of Panama. 

Unbeknown to the party, the Indians, of course, were aware 
of the presence of the white men, and the wonder is that they 
did not annihilate the Spaniards. One morning they were 
about to resume their weary march when the governor's favorite 
page fell dead at his side, pierced by an Indian arrow. This 
was the only hostile act, and Nicuesa and his men never saw a 
native during the trip. The unfortunate page was dressed in a 
white sombrero and gaudy, though tattered garments, and had 
been singled out as the leader of the Spaniards. Each fearing 
for his life, they took up their toilsome journey to the west, 
every day getting farther and farther from their goal. The 
pilot, Ribero, who had been with Columbus when he discovered 
this coast, in 1502, assured Nicuesa that he had passed Belen 
and Veragua ; but the obstinate governor, who claimed to have 
a chart made by Don Bartolome Colon, insisted that Veragua 
was yet to the westward. 

Nicuesa had a dog which, so far, had followed the fortunes of 

One hundred forty-two 



NICUBSA 

the expedition. One day the canine looked up into his hungry 
master's eyes, and there saw something which made him give a 
yelp, drop his tail between his legs, and disappear in the 
brush. It has always seemed* to me that this story was a 
reflection on a noble race of animals noted for their devotion to 
mankind in adversity, and I venture to exonerate the dog on 
the grounds that, by intimate association, he had acquired some 
of the characteristics of his human companions. 

The party finally came to a body of water which appeared to 
be a bay, and Ribero ferried them over to the opposite shore. 
Resuming their march, the land proved to be an island, but the 
sailors being too tired to row them back to the mainland, the 
Spaniards rested for the night. The next morning neither 
the boat nor the four mariners could be found. Some of the 
party became frantic at the hopelessness of their situation; 
others abandoned themselves to silent despair. The island was 
found to be almost a desert, with a few pools of brackish water. 
The men lashed together some drift-wood and attempted to 
reach the mainland, but the currents carried the raft out to sea, 
and the enfeebled swimmers returned with difficulty to the 
island. Nicuesa ordered another raft to be constructed, and 
another effort was made to get away from the island; but the 
outcome was the same. Roots, fruits, and shell-fisn piuviaea 
a little nourishment ; but many died of famine and exhaustion, 
envied, we are told, by the miserable survivors. Weeks passed, 
during which the Spaniards waited for death in sullen despair. 
The site of this wretchedness was, probably, the island at the 
eastern entrance to the Laguna de Chiriqui. 

Lope de Olano has rested under the suspicion of deserting 
Nicuesa, with the hope of usurping the command of the expe- 
dition. According to Oviedo, a contemporary historian, Olano's 
pilot declared rightly that they had arrived at Veragua, saying : 
"This is Veragua, and I came here with the Admiral, Don 
Cristoval Colon, when he discovered this land." But Nicuesa, 
relying upon some papers given him by the Adelantado Bar- 
tolome Colon, denied this, and abused the pilot from on board 
the caravel. The pilot maintained his position, and told Olano 
they "might cut off his head" if they did not find that he was 
right. 

On the night of the storm, assuming that the governor was a 
lost man, Olano commanded his pilot not to follow the lantern 
of the caravel. He took shelter under the lee of an island, and 
in the morning made no effort to find Nicuesa. 

In the meantime, Cueto waited two months at the port of 

One hundred forty-three 



DIBGO DB 

Misas with the larger ships. Hearing from no one, he became 
uneasy, and set out in a small vessel to the west, exploring 
the bays and inlets for some signs of his countrymen. On a 
little island he found a letter, wrapped in a leaf, fastened to a 
stick, which informed him that Nicuesa had sailed farther west- 
ward. Cueto then returned to Misas and started for Veragua 
with all his ships, which were so worm-eaten that he put in the 
River of Alligators (Chagre) for repairs. Here he partly 
unloaded the vessels, and while stopping up the holes, sent out 
one of his pilots, Pedro de Umbria, in a brigantine to look for 
the lost governor of Castilla del Oro. Umbria met Olano, and 
both agreeing that the governor had drowned, sailed back to 
join Cueto in the Rio Chagre. With tears which would have 
done honor to the ''crocodiles" in the river, Olano recounted 
the circumstances of the storm, and the disappearance of Nicu- 
esa. "And now, gentlemen," he said, "let no more mention be 
made of him if you would not kill me." 

Lope de Olano is then recognized as their commander, or 
lieutenant-governor, and the entire outfit sails for the Rio Belen, 
which the pilots who had been with Columbus find without 
difficulty. Olano entered the river and disembarked, losing 
four of his men by drowning. The ships are so rotten that 
they are dismantled. On the site of the old settlement of 
Nuestra Senora de Belen, occupied by Bartolome Colon, in 
1503, the colonists of Nicuesa made another attempt to found 
a white man's town in Veragua. Where stood the storehouse 
and cabins of the Adelantado, destroyed by the Quibian, Olano 
and his people built new huts and landed their supplies. 

Surely, the fighting Quibian of 1503, must be dead, for the 
present chief is a veritable Fabian for wisdom. Instead of 
attacking the whites, the Indians forsake their villages and pas- 
sively retire before the Europeans. There being no food and 
gold to steal, or natives to kill, there is neither livelihood nor 
entertainment for the Spaniards. The provisions brought from 
Hispaniola were spoiled or consumed, and starvation stared 
them in the face. Disease and disaffection followed as usual. 
Herrera relates that one day a foraging party of thirty men 
came upon a dead Indian, and, being famished, devoured the 
putrescent corpse; which caused the death of every one of 
them. A sudden rise in the Rio Belen nearly washed away 
their shacks ; and on another occasion, when Olano was out 
with his men looking for gold, the flood-waters came down 
from the mountains and drowned several of the party; their 
leader escaping only by expert swimming. 

One hundred forty-four 



NicunsA 

This was the state of affairs at Belen when Ribero arrived 
with his three companions. Seeing the futility of trying to con- 
vince Nicuesa that he had passed Veragua, the pilot induced his 
fellow seamen to steal away from the governor and seek assist- 
ance from the other colonists, whom he hoped to find in the 
river Belen. Ribero found the rest of the Spaniards at Belen, 
just as he expected he would ; but their condition was not much 
better than that of the party with Nicuesa. The survival of the 
governor was unwelcome news to Olano ; but he sent a caravel, 
which he had recently constructed, with palm-nuts and fresh 
water, to the island on which Nicuesa was marooned. The res- 
cued and their deliverers embraced, with tears of joy, and the 
governor's party transposed the theater of their miseries from 
the island to Belen. 

When the survivors of the expedition were reunited, the first 
thing Nicuesa did was to accuse Olano of treachery and put him 
in chains. When the other captains interceded in his behalf, the 
governor turned on them and exclaimed : "You do well to 
supplicate mercy for him; you who yourselves have need of 
pardon! You have participated in his crime, why else have 
you suffered so long a time to elapse without compelling him 
to send one of the vessels in search of me." It was the gover- 
nor's desire to punish the captains ; but this was neither the time 
nor place for severities. Half of the expedition, about four 
hundred men, had already perished. Nicuesa sent out detach- 
ments to rob the plantations and deserted villages, but they came 
back worn out and empty handed. The remainder of the dis- 
heartened colonists clamored to be taken away, so Nicuesa 
determined to seek elsewhere for a more desirable place for 
settlement. 

The Spaniards, with more fore-sight than usual, had planted 
maize and vegetables, and they requested the governor to re- 
main a few days longer until the crops would ripen. Instead of 
waiting, Nicuesa left a party behind to gather the harvest, under 
the command of Alonso Nufiez, to whom he gave the high- 
sounding title of Alcalde Mayor. The governor had his fill of 
the country west of Belen, so followed the coast to the east- 
ward. A sailor named Gregorio, of Genoa, who had been with 
Columbus, told Nicuesa that they must be in the neighborhood 
of a fine harbor, named Puerto Bello, where the old Admiral 
had left an anchor sticking in the sand, near which was a spring 
of cool water at the foot of a large tree. After some search, 
Puerto Bello was entered, and the anchor, spring, and tree 
found just as Gregorio stated. The Spaniards forage for some- 
one hundred forty-five 



DIEGO DE 

thing to eat, when the Indians kill twenty of their number and 
drive the rest back in confusion. 

Discouraged at the prospect of making a settlement at Puerto 
Bello, the governor resumed his search to the eastward. After 
sailing about seven leagues, they came to a harbor, usually 
identified with the Puerto de Bastimentos of Columbus. The 
country looked fruitful and the shore seemed to present a 
favorable location for a fortress. "Parcmos aqui, en nombre 
de Dios!" (L,et us stop here, in the name of God) exclaimed 
Nicuesa. His followers, seeing a lucky augury in his words, 
decided to call the place Nombre de Dios, even before a landing 
was effected. The party then disembarked, and the governor 
took formal possession of the country for Spain. A blockhouse 
and huts were constructed, and another attempt made to locate 
the government of Castilla del Oro. The caravel was sent 
to Belen to bring up Nunez and his men. Many had already 
died, and the rest were living on reptiles; a piece of alligator 
being considered a banquet. 

The entire force of Nicuesa was now at Nombre de Dios, 
and mustered only one hundred sick and famished souls. The 
caravel was sent to Hispaniola for bacon, which the governor, 
before sailing, had ordered to be prepared; but the vessel 
was never heard of again. Gonsalo de Badajos made a foray 
among the Indians, who retreated with their valuables and pro- 
visions, and harassed the Spaniards from the shelter of the 
jungle. The white man's thirst for gold was lost in his struggle 
for mere existence. The miserable colonists blamed their 
leader for their suffering, murmured when ordered out to seek 
food, and perished so fast that the survivors wearied of burying 
the dead. "It was noticed in these calamities," states Las Casas, 
"that no one died but when the tide was ebbing ;" a phenomenon 
which has been observed in many other instances, and which 
seems to have a physiological reason to account for it. Soon 
the settlers ceased to even mount a guard, and hopelessly 
awaited death. 



We will now go back to San Sebastian and take up the nar- 
rative of the remnant of Ojeda's colony left in charge of Fran- 
cisco Pizarro. When Alonso de Ojeda sailed away for His- 
paniola he agreed with Pizarro that should he not return within 
fifty days, nor the bachiller Encisco arrive within the same 
period, the colonists were at liberty to abandon the place if 
they chose, and go wheresoever they pleased. When fifty 

One .hundred forty-six 



NICUBSA 

hungry days had passed, and no news of their governor or chief 
justice had been received, the people decided to give up their 
hopeless effort to continue the settlement, and return to San 
Domingo. 

Though so many had perished from the poisoned arrows, 
and from disease and starvation, there yet remained seventy 
Spaniards at San Sebastian. As the two little brigantines could 
not hold that many men, the colonists deliberately tarried until 
death had reduced their number to the capacity of the boats. 
They did not have long to wait. 

When enough had died off, the remainder of the Spaniards 
loaded their few possessions and the salted meat of four mares, 
and embarked for Hispaniola (Espanola). When sailing to 
the east along the coast looking for food, the brigantine com- 
manded by Valenzuela suddenly foundered, as if it had been 
rammed by a whale or overturned by a squall. All on board 
were lost. Pizarro, the Lucky, was in the other boat, and 
continued on to the port of Calamar (Cartagena), where he 
found the tardy Encisco looking for the capital of Nueva 
Andalucia, whose laws he was to administer. 

When the bachiller Encisco was drumming up recruits for 
Ojeda's colony, many of the worthless adventurers and hangers- 
on in Santo Domingo endeavored to go with him in order to 
escape from their creditors. Under the law, no debtor could 
leave the island; so the merchants and others, to whom bills 
were owing, applied to the Admiral, Don Diego Colon, who 
watched the outfit, and ordered an armed vessel to accompany 
Encisco's ship until clear of the land. Notwithstanding this 
vigilance, one debtor managed to elude his creditors and stow 
himself away on the expedition. His name was Vasco Nunez 
de Balboa, destined, in the few remaining years of his life, to 
win everlasting renown. Encisco raved at the enormity of 
the offense, as became a good bachelor-at-law, and threatened 
to maroon Vasco Nunez on the first desert island they came to ; 
but recognized a good recruit in the impoverished gentleman, 
and soon calmed down. 

The bachiller Encisco arrived at Tierra Firme near the 
present city of Cartagena, and entered the bay of Calamar, 
near which Ojeda had his fights with the Indians, and where 
Juan de la Cosa lost his Hfe. Ignorant of the hostilities stirred 
up by his chief, Encisco sent some men ashore for water and 
to repair the boat ; when the natives sounded their war-calls and 
gathered in the vicinity. As two of the Spaniards were filling 
a water cask they were suddenly surrounded by eleven Indians, 

One hundred fdrty-seven 



DIEGO DB 

who, with bows drawn, stood ready to drive their fatal arrows 
into the bodies of the intruders. One of the white men started 
to run to his companions, but the other spoke a few words in 
the Indian tongue, and the natives soon became friendly. En- 
cisco hastened up with an armed force, but the diplomatic 
interpreter maintained amicable relations. Quite different this 
from the blood-thirsty Ojeda. Encisco was not seeking a fight, 
and the Indians exhibited their friendship by supplying the 
whites with maize, salted fish, and fermented drinks. 

At this time, the little brigantine containing Francisco Pizarro 
and his enfeebled men sailed into the harbor. The suspicious 
lawyer was not inclined to believe their story, but their sickly 
and emaciated bodies presented evidence which he could not 
deny. Encisco was now their commander, and he insisted that 
Pizarro and his party must go back to San Sebastian with him. 
Against both law and authority, the miserable survivors of 
Ojeda's settlement had no appeal. Like the other commanders 
who had sailed along Tierra Firme, Encisco planned to do a 
little stealing on the way. While at Calamar, he learned that at 
a place called Genu (Zenu), about twenty-five leagues further 
west, the mountains were so full of gold that the rains washed 
it down into the rivers, where it was caught in nets by the 
natives. He was also informed that Cenii was a general place of 
sepulture for the Indians of that region, who interred with the 
dead their most valuable ornaments. This was greater tempta- 
tion than European flesh and blood, especially Spanish, could 
resist. 

Ever since the institution of burial customs, mankind has 
adorned the dead with, and placed in the grave, the valuables of 
the deceased ; and succeeding generations have spent much time 
and acquired considerable wealth by tearing open and robbing 
the tombs of the departed. Martin Fernandez de Encisco, 
Bachelor of Law, will desecrate the sanctity of the Indian 
sepulchres only according to due legal form. To the two 
caciques he finds at Genu he reads, and partly interprets that 
curious and presumptuous document called Bl Requerimiento 
(The Requisition) prepared by the ablest lawyers and divines 
of Spain; it being the same proclamation used by Ojeda, and 
later robbers, as a sop for their subsequent massacre and pil- 
lage of the natives. The chiefs who listened with grave and 
courteous decorum to the reading of the paper, replied that the 
doctrine of one Supreme Being was good; but that the king 
of Spain must be some madman to ask for what belonged to 
others, and that the Pope must have been drunk to give away 

One hundred forty-eight 



NICUBSA 

what did not belong to him. The two caciques significantly 
added that they were the lords of that region, and if the Spanish 
king annoyed them, they would cut off his head and put it on 
a pole, as was their custom with their enemies ; in evidence of 
which they showed the Bachelor of Law a row of impaled 
grizzly heads. 

Encisco threatened to enslave the lords of Genu if they did 
not acknowledge his rulership, and the two chieftains assured 
the Bachiller that, should he try that game, they would add his 
head to their collection. A fight then ensued in which the 
Indians were worsted, one of the caciques being taken prisoner. 
Two Spaniards were wounded with the poisoned arrows and 
died in great torment. No doubt Pizarro and the older colonists 
warned the new arrivals of the warlike character of these In- 
dians ; and Encisco did not think it wise to make an entry into 
the country, nor did he fish with nets for gold in the rivers. 
The rich sepulchres of Genu remained undisturbed, but the 
fabled story of their wealth, like that of El Hombre Dorado, 
Lake Parima, and the Golden Gity of Manoa, became an ignis 
fatuus to lure many heroic robbers to their destruction in the 
wilds of South America. 

Encisco left Genii and sailed westward for San Sebastian. 
As he rounded Punta Garibana and Punta Arenas, at the 
mouth of the gulf of Uraba, the Bachiller's ship struck upon the 
rocks and went to pieces, losing all the stores, horses, and 
swine. The colonists escaped to the shore with their lives, 
and not much else. They then tramped along the eastern side 
of the gulf until they came to the site of San Sebastian. Here 
another disaster awaited them, as the fort and thirty houses 
erected by Ojeda had been reduced to ashes by the natives. 
Amid such desolation, even the Bachiller lost some of his 
arrogance and self-importance. 

The people killed some peccaries for food, and Encisco 
started out with one hundred men to forage the country. When 
going along a trail, three Indians suddenly appeared and dis- 
charged all the arrows in their quivers at the Spaniards, with 
such incredible rapidity that, before the latter could realize 
what had happened, the dusky warriors had swiftly disap- 
peared. Several men were wounded by the envenomed shafts, 
and this was enough for the terrified party. They turned back 
to the desolate ruins of the settlement, and insisted on leaving 
a place so fatal to the white man. But whither should they go ? 

Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the stowaway, now begins to take a 
part in the affairs of Tierra Firme. Stepping forward, he said : 

One hundred forty-nine 



DIBGO DE 

"Once when I coasted this gulf with Rodrigo de Bastidas, along 
the western shore we found the country fertile and rich in 
gold. Provisions were abundant ; and the natives, though war- 
like, used no poisoned arrows. Through this land of which I 
speak flows a river called by the natives Darien." This was 
cheerful news to the disheartened colonists, as it was only a 
short distance, say about ten miles, to the other side of the 
gulf. Probably in Pizarro's brigantine and the ship's boat, they 
then crossed to the western shore of the gulf of Uraba, which 
they found to be as Vasco Nunez had described it. 

This territory was called Darien, as was the great river 
emptying into the gulf. The chief village was also called 
Darien, where dwelt the cacique, whose name was Cemaco. 
The Bachiller and his followers looked upon Cemaco's prosper- 
ous capital with hungry, gold-thirsty eyes. Being a good 
lawyer, Encisco first swears his witnesses. He made every man 
promise under oath that he would not show his back to the foe. 
He then turned priest, and made a vow to "Our Lady of 
Antigua," in Seville, that, should she favor him with victory, 
he would give to the village her name; as well as make a pil- 
grimage to her shrine, and adorn it with jewels. 

Meanwhile, Cemaco sent his women and children to a place 
of safety, and prepared to defend his home and country. He, 
too, exhorted his warriors, and solicited the aid of superna- 
tural powers; and who shall say that his honest invocations 
received less heed than those of the Bachiller Encisco. With 
five hundred men, Cemaco awaited on a height the onslaught of 
the invaders. Both sides fought desperately, but the red men 
could not stand against the bearded white devils with hard shiny 
clothes, which turned aside the Indian darts; or their long, 
keen cutting knives; and their thundersticks, belching forth 
smoke and death with every report. These natives were not 
so fierce as those on the opposite shore, and as soon as the 
Spaniards discovered that they did not use poisoned arrows, the 
whites pressed the charge with their accustomed assurance and 
valor, and the Indians broke and fled. 

Hidden in various recesses, and among the canes by tne 
river's bank, the Spaniards found a quantity of golden coronets, 
plates, anklets, and other ornaments, to the value of ten thou- 
sand castellanos. Encisco put aside the king's tax, a part for the 
Virgin, and the rest of the spoils he divided among his men. 
They now possessed a habitation much better adapted to the 
climate than any the Spaniards themselves could erect. In 
accordance with his vow, the Bachiller renamed the village. 

One hundred fifty 



NICUBSA 

Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien; a handicap under which 
it struggled for a few more years. Nevertheless, it was the first 
real capital of Spanish government in Tierra Firme. For short, 
the place often was called simply Antigua. Its site has been 
identified with tiie Puerto Hermoso of Columbus, but I am 
inchned to believe that it was farther south in the gulf of 
Uraba, on the westernmost outlet of the Darien (Atrato) river. 

The lawyer ruler was now well established, and proceeded to 
make laws and issue edicts to his heart's content, and to the 
misery of the Spaniards. The people resented most his order, 
given in conformity to royal commands, forbidding private 
traffic for gold. Encisco's arbitrary regulations, entirely un- 
suited to their life in a wild and hostile country, stirred up so 
much opposition that his adventurous crew planned to get rid 
of him. Vasco Nunez, the absconding debtor of Hispaniola, 
again rescues the colonists. Said he: "The gulf of Uraba 
separates Nueva Andalucia from Castilla del Oro. While on the 
eastern side we belonged to the government of Alonso de 
Ojeda ; now that we are on the western, we are subject only to 
Diego de Nicuesa." The facts were irrefutable, and the logic 
irresistible. The Bachiller Encisco was out of his province, 
and had no jurisdiction over them ; so the populace deposed 
him. 

The people then formed themselves, in conformity with 
Spanish law, into a municipality, and elected Vasco Nuiiez and 
Martin Zamudio to be alcaldes; and the cavalier Valdivia was 
chosen regidor. This was the first Town Meeting, by white 
men, in the New World. Later, additional town officers were 
elected ; but discontent still reigned at Antigua. The two-man 
power was unsatisfactory, as it always is. The logic which 
deposed the Bachiller Encisco would also hold against any other 
officer elected from among Ojeda's colony. Being in Castilla del 
Oro, Governor Nicuesa was their lawful commander. So a 
faction was formed for Nicuesa ; while another party were 
strongly in favor of retaining Vasco Nunez as their ruler. 

In November, 1510, while this dispute was going on, the 
booming of cannon was heard from across the gulf, in the 
direction of the deserted San Sebastian de Uraba. Shortly 
after, Rodrigo Enriquez de Colmenares, a lieutenant of Nicuesa, 
appeared with two ship-loads of supplies from Hispaniola, 
seeking the government of Castilla del Oro. East of Calamar, 
near where Santa Marta was founded, he had lost some of his 
men by shipwrecks, and was now carefully searching the coast 
for some signs of the governor. 

One hundred fifty-one 



DIBGO DB 

Colmenares was loyal to Nicuesa, and tactful 'n his dealings 
with the restless people at Antigua. He distribi.ted provisions 
and articles needed by the settlers, and prevailed upon them to 
acknowledge Nicuesa their chief. The people retained a good 
opinion of the governor for his generous conduct toward 
Ojeda at Calamar, and they appointed two of their number, 
Diego de Albites and Diego del Corral (another bachiller of 
law), to confer with Nicuesa and invite him to Antigua. With 
the two ambassadors, Colmenares sailed to the west, searching 
the bays and inlets of the north coast of the Isthmus. At a 
small island, opposite Nombre de Dios, he came upon a brigan- 
tine, in which were several white men sent out by Nicuesa to 
hunt for food. They piloted Colmenares to Nombre de Dios, 
which was so inclosed by jungle that it is doubtful if it other- 
wise would have been found. The relief brought by Col- 
menares was timely, as the wretched colony was now reduced to 
60 souls, with yellow emaciated bodies, covered with dirty, 
ragged garments. 

When Nicuesa heard of the failure of Ojeda's colony, of the 
settlement at Darien, and the wish of the people for him to 
rule over them, all his old spirit returned. He gave a sort of 
banquet to Colmenares and the ambassadors, at which he carved 
a chicken while holding it in the air, a feat of his cavalier days. 
The sudden change from starvation and despondency to plenty 
of food and the prospect of ruling a rich town, was too much 
for the governor. He became garrulous and arrogant, and told 
how he was going to depose the officers elected at Antigua, and 
punish the settlers and make them disgorge the gold they had 
unlawfully taken from his subjects. Colmenares warned his 
chief, but it was too late. Albites and Corral then interviewed 
some of Nicuesa's people, and ran across Lope de Olano, the 
second in command, chained to a rock and grinding corn in the 
Indian fashion, "Take warning by my treatment," he told them. 
"I sent relief to Nicuesa and rescued him from death when 
starving on a desert island. Behold my recompense. He 
repays me with imprisonment and chains. Such is the gratitude 
the people of Darien may look for at his hands !" 

The two agents took heed, and hurried back to Antigua ahead 
of Nicuesa. Before a meeting of the town, they said: "A 
blessed change we have made in summoning Diego de Nicuesa 
to the command ! We have called in the stork to take the rule, 
who will not rest satisfied until he has devoured us." Nicuesa, 
meanwhile, was reveling in his fool's paradise. He leisurely 
coasted towards his ready-made capital, stopping at the Mula- 

One hundred fifty-two 



Nicuns A 

tas to steal slaves by the way. To announce his approach, he 
sent on Juan de Caicedo, who proved a disloyal, if truthful, 
messenger. "What folly it is in you, being your own master 
and in such free condition, to send for a tyrant to rule over 
you!" The testimony against Nicuesa was overwhelming, and 
the people were again uncertain what to do. 

For the third time within a short period the resourceful 
Vasco Nunez came to the relief of the bewildered colonists. 
"You are cast down in heart, and so you might well be were the 
evil beyond all cure. But do not despair ; there is an effectual 
relief, and you hold it in your hands. If calling Nicuesa was an 
error, is not receiving him a greater one?" 

The governor serenely arrived off Antigua, and found the 
people assembled, as he thought, to give him a royal welcome. 
When about to land, the public procurator called to him in 
a loud voice, warning him not to disembark, but to go back to 
Nombre de Dios where he belonged. Nicuesa was thunder- 
struck; but recovered himself and said: "Gentlemen, you 
yourselves sent for me. Let me land and we will talk the 
matter over ; you have to hear me, and I have to hear you, and 
we have to understand one another. Afterwards do with 
me what you will." With insolent replies, the people refused 
to let him come ashore; and night approaching, the governor 
stood out to sea. In the morning, he returned, hoping to find 
a change in the sentiment towards him. Such was the case, 
for the people now invited him to land ; but it was only a trap 
to ensnare him. As they rushed at him, Nicuesa took to his 
heels, and being noted as a runner (and not over-burdened 
with fat), distanced the rabble, and disappeared in the woods. 

Vasco Nufiez now made his power felt. Himself a gentle- 
man, he would not see another cavalier abused by the mob. 
He repressed his fellow alcalde, Zamudio ; and sentenced Fran- 
cisco Benitez, a loud-mouthed adherent of Zamudio, to one 
hundred lashes for inciting the populace. Nicuesa, he enter- 
tained, and conducted to his brigantine, with strict warning not 
to venture ashore unless advised by him. When all was quiet, 
the mob got together again and sent a mock deputation to 
Nicuesa, inviting him to come ashore to be installed as their 
governor. Nicuesa, whose mind must have been affected by his 
hardships and disease, foolishly disobeyed the injunction of 
Vasco Nunez, and acceded to the invitation. As soon as the 
governor landed, he was seized by Zamudio and his gang, who, 
with threats of instant death, made him swear to depart imme- 
diately, and not stop until he appeared before the king and his 

One hundred fifty-three 



DIEGO DB 

council in Castile. Nicuesa implored to be received as com- 
panion, if not as ruler, and begged to be put in chains rather 
than be sent away ; but they would not listen to him. 

Diego de Nicuesa, the lawful governor of the province, was 
placed by these interlopers on a vessel, the worst in the harbor, 
and forced to sail away. Seventeen followers, mostly of his 
own household, embarked with him. The crazy craft departed 
from Antigua on the first day of March, 151 1 ; and that was the 
last ever heard of Diego de Nicuesa, governor of Castilla del 
Oro. He was the first white ruler of the region which included 
the Isthmus of Panama. Today, the only reminder of Nicuesa 
is the name he gave to the first capital of Castilla del Oro — 
Nombre de Dios — abandoned as a port and settlement, in 1597, 
by order of Felipe II. of Spain. "Show Thy face, O Lord, and 
we shall be saved," were the governor's last words, as he left 
the shore. It is likely that the wormeaten vessel could not sail 
eastward against the equatorial current, but was driven to the 
west, and foundered in the Caribbean Sea, off the Isthmus. 
There was a rumor that Nicuesa was wrecked on the coast of 
Veragua, where these words were cut in the bark of a tree : 
"Aqui anduvo perdido el desdichado Diego de Nicuesa" — Here 
wandered lost the unfortunate Diego de Nicuesa. Another ver- 
sion has it that, landing on the coast of the Isthmus for water, 
Nicuesa and his men were captured by the natives, barbecued, 
and eaten. Still another tale prevailed a few years later. On 
the coast of Cuba was found, it was said, carved in a tree, the 
following inscription : "Aqui fenecio el desdichado Nicuesa" — 
Here perished the wretched Nicuesa. If either story is true, 
the latter is the more probable ; as the westerly currents bore 
both Columbus and Ojeda, it will be remembered, to the south 
shore of Cuba. However, Las Casas, who was among the first 
to go to Cuba, discredits the report. The Bishop relates that an 
astrologer warned Nicuesa not to sail on the day he departed 
from Spain ; to which the governor replied that he had less faith 
in the stars than in the God who made them. 

At the time Nicuesa left Santo Domingo, Las Casas saw a 
sword-shaped comet over Hispaniola, and remembered that a 
monk warned those about him not to accompany the governor 
of Castilla del Oro, for the heavens foretold his destruction. 
"The same, however," concludes the Bishop of Chiapa, might 
he said of Alonso de Ojeda, "who sailed at the same time, 
yet returned to San Domingo and died in his bed." The expe- 
dition of Nicuesa was the most disastrous, so far, in the Indies. 

One hundred fifty four 



NICUBSA 

Of the 800 men who sailed with him from Santo Domingo, only 
43 remained alive in Castilla del Oro. 

"Here I cannot forbear to commend the patient virtue of the 
Spaniards; we seldom or never find that any nation hath endured so 
many misadventures and miseries as the Spaniards have done in their 
Indian discoveries ; yet persisting in their enterprizes with an invinc- 
ible constancy, they have annexed to their kingdom so many goodly 
provinces, as bury the remembrance of all dangers past. Tempests and 
shipwrecks, famine, overthrows, mutinies, heat and cold, pestilence and 
all manner of diseases, both old and new, together with extreme poverty, 
and want of all things needful, have been the enemies wherewith every 
one of their most noble discoverers, at one time or other, hath 
encountered. Many years had passed over their heads, in the search of 
not so many leagues, yea, more than one or two have spent their labors, 
their wealth, and their lives, in search of a golden kingdom, without 
getting further notice of it than what they had at their first setting 
forth. All which notwithstanding, the third, fourth, and fifth under- 
takers have not been disheartened. Surely they are worthily rewarded 
with those treasuries and paradises which they enjoy; and well they 
deserve to hold them quietly, if they hinder not the like virtue in 
others, which perhaps will not be found." 

Sir Walter Raleigh, History of the World.,(Bk. V., Chapi 50. 



One hundred fifty-five 



CHAPTER X 
VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA 

Discoverer of the Pacific Ocean 

"Before him spread no paltry lands 
To wrest with spoils from savage hands ; 
But, fresh and fair, an unknown world 
Of mighty sea and shore unfurled." 

Nora Perry. 

i ASCO Ntr:StEZ DE BALBOA was a native of 
Jerez (Xeres) de los Caballeros in Spain. 
The moderns call him simply Balboa, but the 
older v^riters refer to him as Vasco Nunez. 
He v^as of a noble but impoverished family, 
and was reared in the service of Don Pedro 
Puertocarrero, the deaf lord of Moguer. 
Vasco Nunez came out to the New World 
with Bastidas and Cosa, in 1500, and thus was 
among the first to arrive, in 1501, at the east- 
ern half of the Isthmus. On his return voy- 
age, Bastidas, as we have seen, was compelled 
to beach his vessels on Hispaniola (Espaiiola) ; where he was 
arrested by Bobadilla, and sent a prisoner to Spain. 

Vasco Nunez remained in Hispaniola, obtained a reparti- 
miento of Indians, and located as a planter at the town of 
Salvatierra on the sea coast. Doubtless, he lead the usual 
loose and careless life of the Spanish adventurer in the island. 
The only thing he accumulated was debt; so when Alonso de 
Ojeda, in 1509, got up his expedition for Terra Firma, the 
young cavalier determined to accompany him. Debtors were 
prohibited from leaving Hispaniola, and the vigilance of the 
authorities prevented Vasco Nufiez from openly joining Ojeda. 
Nevertheless, he succeeded, as before stated, in getting away 
with Encisco, and the manner of his escape was this: Vasco 
Nunez ensconced himself in a large cask, such as was used in 
shipping stores, and caused it to be headed up and carted to the 
shore, where it was placed with the other supplies, from whence, 
in due time, it was carried aboard Encisco's ship*. 

^ Oviedo's account differs from this. He says that Vasco Nunez, with 
the assistance of one Hurtado, hid himself in a ship's sail. 




One hundred fifty-seven 



VASCO NU^BZ 

When well on the voyage, "like Aphrodite from her circling 
shell," the bankrupt farmer emerged from his contracted quar- 
ters, and made his presence known to the Bachiller Encisco. 
The lawyer threatened to punish Balboa by landing him on a 
desert island ; but relented and retained him as a recruit ; "for 
God," says the good Bishop of Chiapa, "reserved him for 
greater things." When the colonists got in trouble and did not 
know which way to turn, it was the hombre del casco who 
pointed out the way. In the preceding chapter we showed how 
Vasco Nunez came to Tierra Firme, and, by good sense and 
natural ability, superseded Encisco, and came to be preferred to 
Nicuesa. 

When Diego de Nicuesa was sent away to his death, dis- 
cord did not cease at Antigua. Alcalde Balboa was the ablest 
and most popular man; Alcalde Zamudio had the backing of 
the mob; and the deposed Bachiller Encisco claimed that he 
was the only legally constituted authority in Tierra Firme. At 
the instigation of Vasco Nunez, the two Alcaldes charge 
Encisco with assuming authority and jurisdiction without the 
king's license. His goods are sequestrated, and the Bachiller 
is placed in confinement; but subsequently released on his 
promise to immediately leave the country for Hispaniola or 
Spain. That other lawyer, Bachiller Corral, with Captain 
Badajoz and others, took notes of the proceedings of the 
Alcaldes, to send to the king by Encisco. The Alcaldes seized 
the ringleaders and put them in a pen, from which they escaped 
and sought sanctuary in the house of the Franciscans ; and were 
finally discharged. 

To get rid of Zamudio, Vasco Nunez induced him to accom- 
pany Encisco to Spain, in order to refute any of the lawyer's 
misrepresentations of affairs at Antigua. Balboa has been 
accused of weakness in allowing Encisco to plead his cause 
before the king, but to me it looks more like strength and 
nobility of character. A weak, wicked, or cunning man, in 
place of Vasco Nunez, would have retained Encisco a prisoner 
or brought about his death. In the same vessel which bore 
away Encisco and Zamudio, Vasco Nunez sent his friend Val- 
divia, the regidor, to obtain supplies in Hispaniola for the 
colony. Balboa and Valdivia were friends at Salvatierra, and 
the latter is intrusted with a large share of the golden loot of 
Darien with which to purchase the favor of Diego Colon, and 

One hundred fifty-eight 



DB BALBOA 

of Pasamonte, the king's treasurer at Santo Domingo.' With 
the Admiral, Valdivia is successful, and carries back to Vasco 
Nuiiez a commission authorizing him to act as lieutenant of 
Diego Colon in Tierra Firme. The governor was pleased at 
the failure of Ojeda and Nicuesa, and saw a chance to support 
his claim to jurisdiction in those parts. 

When Diego de Nicuesa took leave of his miserable 
capital — Nombre de Dios — he left his sickly little garrison in 
charge of Gonzalo de Badajoz, with Alonso de Madrid as 
alcalde. Vasco Nunez furnished them with food, and invited 
the survivors to join their countrymen at Antigua. Nicuesa's 
men, hearing nothing from their governor, gladly accepted the 
invitation, and Colmenares went to Nombre de Dios, with two 
brigantines, and carried all hands to Antigua. Lope de Olano 
was freed of his chains, and subsequently favored by Vasco 
Nufiez. 

Thus ended the first decade of discovery and attempted con- 
quest of Tierra Firme. Hundreds of lives, with much property 
and numerous vessels, had been lost; Juan de la Cosa and 
Diego de Nicuesa were no more; and Alonso de Ojeda wan- 
dered broken hearted about the streets of San Domingo. It is 
doubtful whether all the pearls and gold so far filched from 
the Indians exceeded in value the losses sustained by the vari- 
ous expeditions to the mainland of the New World. Attempts 
to settle at Belen in Veragua, Santa Cruz in Bahia Honda, San 
Sebastian in Uraba, and Nombre de Dios in Castilla del Oro, 
had all ended in complete failure. All the Spaniards on the 
continent of America were now gathered at Santa Maria la 
Antigua del Darien. The population of Antigua amounted 
to at least two hundred and fifty men, of whom about thirty 
or forty belonged to Ojeda's original party, and only forty- 
three remained of Nicuesa's expedition, the majority having 
arrived in the reinforcements brought by Encisco and Col- 
menares. 

It was Vasco Nufiez de Balboa who determined the settle- 
ment at Antigua ; and it was he who first established the Span- 
iards in the Isthmus, as well as on the mainland of America. 
By his ability, tact, and firmness he controlled and amalgamated 

"" One of the delightful things in the history of the Spanish conquest 
of America is the naive way in which every one assumes, as a matter of 
course, that every official from the King down will not only receive, 
but expects to be offered a bribe, before giving an inferior his just 
deserts. This was a sort of grand tipping; a practice not unknown 
today. 

One hundred fifty-nine 



VASCO NUNBZ 

the disorderly elements of his colony; and first subdued and 
then conciliated, the hostile natives about him. He looked after 
the welfare of his soldiers, was just to everybody, and impar- 
tial in the division of spoils. Even Oviedo, who was not 
friendly to Balboa, says : "No chieftain who ever went to the 
Indies equalled him in these respects." Vasco Nunez at this 
time was about thirty-five years of age, and was tall, muscular, 
and comely in every part. He had a winning manner, and bore 
himself in a manly way, as became an honest man and a master 
of the sword^ 

Balboa was now the sole commander and de facto governor 
of Castilla del Oro. One day some Indians, probably spies, 
brought in provisions, and told the Spaniards there was much 
gold in Cueva* (Coiba), a province twenty leagues westerly 
from Antigua, ruled by cacique Careta. Vasco Nunez ordered 
Francisco Pizarro, whom he had made captain, to take six men 
and make a reconnoissance toward Cueva. On the way, they 
were attacked by Cemaco with four hundred warriors ; but, as 
the natives of Darien did not use poisoned arrows and fought 
hand-to-hand, the Spaniards killed a great number and put the 
rest to flight. According to the historian Herrera, one hundred 
and fifty Indians were eviscerated; which seems rather a hard 
day's work in the tropics for half-a-dozen white men, even 
Spanish butchers. It is allowable to question these figures, inas- 
much as Pizarro hastened back to Antigua, leaving one of his 
little band wounded on the field. Balboa was angry at this 
desertion, and sharply commanded Pizarro to "Go instantly 
and bring me Francisco Hernan, and as you value your life, 
never again leave one of my soldiers alive upon a field of bat- 
tle!" Pizarro then went back and brought in the wounded 
man. Vasco Nunez immediately started out with a hundred 
men to punish Cemaco ; but, after ascending the river for some 
distance and finding no enemy, he abandoned pursuit. 

When Colmenares, with the two brigantines, was returning 
from Nombre de Dios with the remainder of Nicuesa's men, 
they stopped at a port in Cueva, where the Spaniards were 
greeted by two of their countrymen, with painted naked bodies, 
like Indians. These two men had deserted about a year and a 
half before from Nicuesa, to escape punishment, and had been 
kindly received by Careta, who made one of them, Juan Alonso, 

^ Egregius digladiator, Peter Martyr calls him. 

* Do not confound with similar names on the south coast of the 
Isthmus. 

One hundred sixty 



DB BALBOA 

commander of his forces. This wretch told of the wealth of Car- 
eta, and proposed to betray the chieftain to the Spaniards. Col- 
menares was too weak to make the attempt, so carried one of the 
deserters to Antigua to lay the plan before Balboa. The latter 
directed the two vessels to meet him at Cueva while he himself 
marched overland at the head of one hundred and thirty men. 

Careta received the white men and entertained them in his 
village. Vasco Nunez demanded enough maize to fill his ships, 
and the chief replied that when Christians had passed by his 
lands he had furnished them liberally, and would do so now, 
but that he was short of provisions, because his people had not 
been able to plant, on account of being at war with Ponca, a 
neighboring chief. Juan Alonso told Balboa there was an 
abundance of food, and suggested that he take leave of Careta, 
but return at night and storm the town. With their old battle- 
cry of "Santiago," the Spaniards attacked the town that night, 
in three divisions, and slaughtered many of the inhabitants. 
The brigantines were loaded with booty, and Careta and his 
family carried prisoners to Antigua. It is stated that Juan 
Alonso secured the person of the cacique, and Las Casas, the 
Apostle to the Indians, likens his act to that of Judas Iscariot. 

Careta promised submission, and begged to be set free, 
giving Vasco Nuiiez his daughter as a pledge. The white 
commander became very fond of the Indian maiden, who is 
described as being very beautiful, and it was her influence 
which brought about a friendly alliance between Vasco Nunez 
and Careta. Balboa, with eighty men, joined Careta in an 
attack on Ponca, but the latter fled, leaving his territory to be 
devastated by the allies. For his part, Careta made his subjects 
plant corn to supply the Christians with food. 

On the sea-coast to the west of Careta, about forty leagues 
from Antigua, was the domain of Comagre, in the neighbor- 
hood of the present Punta Mosquitos. The tribe numbered ten 
thousand souls, and could muster three thousand warriors. A 
deserter from Careta's household, called a jura, who was living 
with Comagre, brought about a friendly interview between that 
chief and Balboac. This wise native recognized the prowess 
of the white men, and sought to avoid bloodshed by diplomacy. 

Vasco Nunez visited Comagre, was received with ceremony, 
and conducted to the "palace." ^ This was the largest and finest 

' "Built on very heavy posts, surrounded by a stone wall, and the 
ceilings so beautifully worked in wood that the Spaniards wondered at 
the sight, and could not express their admiration of the cleverness and 
beauty of the work." L,as. Casas, Hist, de las Indias, L,XV, p. 77. 

One hundred sixty-one 



VASCO NU^BZ 

building yet discovered in the Indies. Its dimensions, as given 
by Las Casas, were a hundred and fifty feet in length, eighty in 
breadth, and eighty in height. It contained many apartments, 
one of which was a mausoleum wherein were kept the des- 
iccated ancestors of Comagre. The cacique presented Vasco 
Nufiez with four thousand ounces of gold, and seventy slaves. 
Among the numerous progeny of Comagre, for he was much 
married, were seven sons, noted for their large stature and 
noble bearing. The eldest, named Panciaco, was a young man 
of unusual sagacity, and proud and haughty demeanor. 

After the Spaniards had weighed out the king's fifth of the 
gold, under the supervision of the veedor, there arose a dispute 
and wrangle about the division of the remainder among them- 
selves. Panciaco observed the contention with much scorn; 
and, like Brennus, dashing aside the scales and golden jewelry, 
delivered the following harangue : "Christians ! why quarrel 
and make so much turmoil about a little gold, which neverthe- 
less you melt down from beautifully wrought work into rude 
bars. Is it for such a trifle that you banish yourselves from 
your country, cross the seas, endure hardships, and disturb the 
peaceful nations of these lands? Cease your unseemly brawl, 
and I will show you a country where you may obtain your fill 
of gold. Six days' march across yon mountam will brmg you 
to an ocean sea, like this near which we dwell, where there are 
ships, a little less in size than yours, with sails and oars, and 
where the people eat out of vessels of gold, and have large 
cities and wealth unbounded. To go there it is necessary that 
you should be more in number than you are now ; for you would 
have to fight your way with great kings, and amongst them, in 
the first place, with King Tubanama, our ancient enemy, who 
has much gold, and lives on the other sea. Could we for once 
bring low this hated Tubanama, no sacrifice would be too dear. 
Prepare your army. I myself will accompany you with all the 
warriors of our nation. Guard me well ; and if my words prove 
false, hang me on the next tree." This is the substance of Pan- 
ciaco's speech as interpreted by some o.f the Spaniards, like 
Juan Alonso, who had learned something of the Indian tongue. 

"These celebrated words," says Quintana, "preserved in all 
the memoirs of the time, and repeated by all the historians, 
were the first announcement that the Spaniards had of Peru." 
"Our captains," writes Peter Martyr, "marvelling at the oration 
of the naked young man, pondered in their minds and earnestly 
considered his sayings." Vasco Nunez heard the words, and 
it is likely that Captain Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Alma- 
Owe hundred sixty-two 




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DB BALBOA 

gro were also present. Balboa questioned the Indians further 
about the sea on the other side of the Sierras, and Panciaco 
estimated that a thousand Spaniards would be required to 
subdue Tubanama. While on this visit, the Christian priests 
got busy and baptised Comagre and many of his people, giving 
the cacique the name of Don Fernando. 

When the white men went back to Antigua, they found Valdi- 
via returned from Santo Domingo, after an absence of six 
months. He brought some provisions, and, what was of more 
importance to Vasco Nuiiez, his commission as governor of 
Darien, from Diego Colon. The maize planted by the Indian 
slaves was destroyed by a great rain storm, and the colonists 
were again in straits for food. They made predatory forays 
among the natives, sometimes torturing the Indians to make 
them disclose their gold. Towards the close of the year 15 ii, 
Valdivia was again despatched to Hispaniola for food, and 
carried with him the king's share of the gold, amounting to 
fifteen thousand pesos de oro, as well as large sums sent by 
private persons to their friends and creditors. Vasco Nunez 
wrote to Diego Colon, extolling the Isthmus, informed him of 
the news of a great sea to the southward, and begged for more 
men to attempt its discovery. Balboa is described as being 
humane and generous to the natives, yet he wrote to the 
Admiral that he had hanged thirty caciques and must hang 
more, for the whites were so few in number that his position 
could be maintained only by such severities. 

This brings us to another tale of horror in the conquest 
of the New World. Valdivia's vessel was caught in a storm 
when near Jamaica, and wrecked on the Viboras, or Pedro 
Shoals, off that island. Twenty men, including the commander, 
escaped in the boat, but without food, sails, or oars. For thir- 
teen days the currents of the Caribbean tossed them about, 
during which six or seven died of thirst. The remainder are 
thrown on shore in the province of Maya, in Yucatan; where 
they are seized by the natives, placed in a pen, and fattened. 
When in prime condition, Valdivia and four of his companions 
are sacrificed in the temple, their hearts cut out with obsidian 
knives, and offered to the gods, while their bodies are roasted 
and eaten. Foreseeing the dreadful fate awaiting them, the rest 
of the crew make their escape, and after great suffering, give 
themselves up to Ahkin Xooc, lord of Jamacana. This ruler, 
fortunately, is at enmity with the Maya Chief, and retains the 
white men, but in the harshest servitude ; so that in a few years 
but two of the number are left alive. In the year 15 17, Fran- 

One hundred sixty-three 



VASCO Nu^nz 

Cisco Hernandez de Cordova and Bernal Diaz del Castillo heard 
the natives of Cape Catoche use the term "Castillan"; and in 
1 5 19, Hernando Cortes, when on his way to conquer Mexico, 
stopped at the island of Cozumel, where he saw a stone cross, 
and found Geronimo de Aguilar, one of the two survivors of 
Valdivia's party. He was a friar in minor orders, and ascribed 
his escape to his chastity and other virtues. Aguilar accom- 
panied Cortes to Mexico, and became very useful as an inter- 
preter. Together with the slave girl Marina, acquired a few 
days later in Tabasco, who could speak Mexican, Cortes was 
enabled at the outset to talk freely with the natives. These two 
acquisitions were so opportune as to be looked upon as almost 
miraculous interventions in favor of the white invaders. The 
other survivor, a sailor named Gonzalo Guerrero, also received 
a message from Cortes, but declined to return to the Spaniards. 
The latter claimed he was ashamed to appear before them with 
his nose and ears bored after the manner of the natives. As 
Guerrero had become a great general, and married a princess, 
it is more likely that he preferred to retain his position of bar- 
barian splendor and stay with his wife and children. 

Despite popular belief to the contrary, the American Indians 
have considerable sense of humor, and with grave and wooden 
demeanor they have given many a ''jolly" to the White Man. 
The Spaniards were always inquiring about gold, and the 
Indians generally knew of a place, usually in the domain of an 
enemy, where abundance of it could be found. At other times 
native myths and fairy tales were taken seriously, and misled 
the whites. One of these numerous Bldorados, which the 
Spaniards were always seeking, was the Golden Temple of 
Dabaiba' about thirty leagues south of Antigua, up the great 
river of Darien (Atrato). Within this wonderful temple, 
which was lined with gold, human beings were sacrificed to 
the gods. The Spaniards did not mind Dabaiba offering up his 
slaves and captives, but it was not right to let him keep all that 
gold. 

Early in 15 12, Vasco Nunez led an expedition of one hundred 
and sixty men against Dabaiba. He sent one-third of his com- 
mand under Colmenares in a brigantine up the San Juan chan- 
nel; while with the main body, in another brigantine, Balboa 

* In the Darien mythology, Dabaiba was the mother of the powers 
that controlled the elements, and who had created the sun, the moon, 
and all good things. "En la religion indigena, Dabaibe era la madre 
del dios que dominaba los elementos y que habia creado el sol, la 
luna y todas las cosas buenas." — Valdes. 

One hundred sixty four 



DB BALBOA 

ascended the Rio de las Redes, Cemaco, the rightful lord of 
Darien, watched their movements, and induced the chiefs along 
the river to lay waste their plantations and retire with their 
valuables. Nevertheless, the Spaniards secured, a short dis- 
tance up the river, two canoe-loads of plunder, valued at seven 
thousand pesos, which on reaching the gulf were overturned in 
a storm, and the boatmen drowned. Vasco Nuiiez then joined 
Colmenares in the Rio San Juan, and the entire party went up 
the Rio Negro, still another mouth of the Atrato, and assaulted 
a village of five hundred houses, ruled by Ahenameche. This 
cacique and his warriors fiercely attacked the Spaniards with 
their two-handed wooden swords (macanas) but could not beat 
off the invaders. After the battle, a Spanish soldier, whom 
Abenameche had wounded, cruelly struck off the chief's arm 
with one blow of his sword. 

Leaving here half the force with Colmenares, Balboa con- 
tinued up stream and entered the territory of Ahibeiha, whose 
people built their houses in the tops of trees, of such bigness 
that seven or eight men, hand in hand, were scarcely able to 
surround one of them. When attacked, they retreated to their 
arboreal homes, drew up the ladders, and hurled stones, kept 
for that purpose, at the enemy. These missiles had no effect 
upon the shields and mailed coats of the Spaniards, and when 
the latter began to chop the trees, Abibeiba descended to earth. 
"What brings you hither to molest me?" demanded the chief. 
"Go your way. I know you not as friends or foes. I have no 
gold. I desire only to be left in peace." He assured Vasco 
Nunez that he valued gold no more than stones, and was 
allowed to seek some for the Spaniards ; but as he did not return 
on time, they destroyed his habitation. 

Meanwhile, Colmenares had sent out a party under command 
of a lieutenant named Raya, who foraged in the domain of a 
chieftain called Abraiba. Abenameche, Abibeiba, and Abraiba 
came together and bemoaned their fortune. "How long shall 
we bear with the cruelty of these strangers?" said they; "is it 
not better to die than to endure what they inflict upon us?" 
With mutual encouragement they made a combined attack, with 
five hundred men, upon Colmenares. The latter defeated the 
Indians, and captured a large number of them, whom he sent 
as slaves to Antigua. 

Balboa and Colmenares returned to Antigua, leaving Bar- 
tolome Hurtado, with thirty men to garrison Abenameche. 
Soon after, Hurtado sent about half his command, who were 
sick, in a canoe to Antigua, with twenty-four captive Indians. 

One hundred sixty-five 



VASCO NU^BZ 

When only three leagues down the Rio Negro, they were set 
upon by Cemaco, with one hundred warriors in four large 
canoes, and all the Spaniards but two were drowned. These 
two concealed themselves in the drift-wood floating down the 
river, and escaped to the shore, and back to Hurtado. He and 
his few remaining men abandoned their post, and hastened to 
Antigua, with the intelligence, obtained from prisoners, that 
a general uprising of the natives was threatened. 

Cemaco of Darien formed a confederation of five caciques, 
namely : Abenameche of the severed arm, Abibeiba of the tree- 
top village, Dabaiba of the golden temple, Abraiba, and him- 
self; a total of five thousand fighting men pledged to exter- 
minate the white invaders. A rendezvous was appointed at 
Tirichi, a short distance up the river ; and so confident were the 
chiefs, that they had already agreed upon the division of the 
Spanish goods. To lull the whites into a sense of security, 
Cemaco sent Vasco Nuiiez a pledge of forty men to work in 
the fields about Antigua. The night was set when the Indians, 
in one hundred canoes, were to attack the town. Had the secret 
been faithfully kept, Antigua would have shared the fate of 
Belen and San Sebastian ; the tide of Spanish conquest turned 
away from the Isthmus, and the discovery and subjugation of 
Peru postponed for years. 

Cherches la femme! Love foiled the plan of the heroic 
Cemaco. The tender regard of an Indian for his sister, and the 
infatuation of the maiden for Vasco Nufiez, determined the 
white man's supremacy at this time in Darien. An Indian told 
his sister, a mistress of Balboa, to depart from the town on 
a certain night, so that she might not be harmed in the intended 
assault. This woman, who was called Fulvia, divulged the plot 
to her white lover, and betrayed her country.'' 

Vasco Nunez caused Fulvia to induce her brother to come to 
Antigua, when he was seized and put to the torture. He dis- 
closed the whole conspiracy, and told Balboa that the Indians 
sent by Cemaco had orders to kill him; but were afraid to make 
the attempt, as the white leader always appeared armed and 
mounted on a horse, an animal which filled them with terror. 
To be forewarned meant victory for the Spaniards. Vasco 

' "Poor heart of woman touched with love," is the comment of Ban- 
croft on this occurrence. Said Fulvia's brother, — "Dearest sister, give 
ear to my words, and keep most secretly that which I say to you, if 
you care for your own welfare and mine and that of our country and 
people." 

Peter Martyr, dec, 2, chap. 5. 

One hundred sixty-six 



DB BALBOA 

Nunez compelled the traitress Fulvia's brother to guide Col- 
menares with seventy men in canoes to Tirichi ; while he, with 
an equal force, marched by a circuitous route to attack the 
Indian camp. Taken by surprise, on both river and land sides, 
the allied natives were thrown into confusion, and many of 
them killed or taken prisoners. Numerous caciques were 
hanged, while the principal war-chief was honored by being shot 
to death with arrows. Cemaco was pursued by Vasco Nunez, 
but the patriotic chieftain escaped, I am glad to state. This 
unexpected and severe blow subdued the Darien Indians ; never- 
theless, when Balboa returned to Antigua, he built a wooden 
blockhouse to guard against any future surprises. 

Receiving no news from Valdivia, or Hispaniola, Vasco 
Nunez became anxious about his position, and resolved to go to 
Spain and plead his cause before the king; but the colonists 
would not hear of this. His enemies feared he would secure 
all the advantages to himself; while his friends thought he 
might lose his command, and they their protector. It was 
finally arranged that Colmenares and Caicedo, both worthy 
men, should be the messengers from Antigua. It was thought 
these men would be sure to come back, because the former had 
accumulated propetry and slaves, and the latter possessed a 
genuine Spanish wife to whom he was much attached. They 
bore the king's fifth of the gold, and news of the sea to the 
south; and were directed to sohcit aid for the young colony. 
As the deputies would sail first for San Domingo, Balboa sent 
a sum of gold to Pasamonte, and a letter asking his favor. 

Colmenares and Caicedo sailed from Antigua in October, 
1512, but did not arrive in Spain until May, 1513.^ They started 
out in one of the old brigantines, which was repaired, and fitted 
with vines and twisted bark for cordage. Steering for Hispa- 
niola, the equatorial currents, as usual, landed them on the 
shores of Cuba, from whence they passed over to Hispaniola,. 
and so to Spain. 

The neighboring Indians being all killed, enslaved, or pacified, 
the vicious spirits at Antigua directed their venom at their 
officers. The appointment of Bartolome Hurtado, by Vasco 
Nunez, to a position of authority, gave particular offense to the 
unruly element. Led by Alonso Perez and the Bachiller Corral, 
they sought to secure both Hurtado and Balboa ; but the latter 
was the first to act, and imprisoned Perez. The insurgents, 
under Corral, appeared under arms in the center of the town, 
demanding the release of Perez; and Vasco Nunez with his 

One hundred sixty-seven 



VASCO NUNEZ 

adherents prepared to give them battle. The better element 
then interfered to bring about peace, and Perez was released. 
Very soon, however, he seized on Hurtado, who in turn was 
set free by the more sensible colonists, who saw that the In- 
dians would probably destroy the remainder if the factions 
came to bloodshed. 

The feud was only patched up, and broke out again when it 
came time to divide about ten thousand castellanos worth of 
gold obtained in the late raids up the Darien river. The mob, 
always opposed to any kind of government, clamored that Vasco 
Nunez had usurped the governorship, which was a royal ap- 
pointment, and that he did not make fair division of the spoils. 
The sensible Balboa, who cared nothing for wealth, went off 
on a hunting trip, and left the populace to their own evil 
devices. Finding themselves free, the mob elevated Perez and 
Corral to the command and seized the gold for them to divide. 
When the distribution was finished no one was satisfied ; and 
there was another great tumult. The followers of Vasco 
Nunez again asserted themselves, imprisoned Alonso Perez 
and the Bachiller Corral, and awaited the return of Balboa. 
In a few days Vasco Nunez came back from the hunt, and in 
his letter of January 20, 1513 (which is still preserved), wrote 
an account of the disturbance to the king.* 

Not long after, there arrived at Antigua two vessels, in com- 
mand of Cristobal Serrano, sent by Diego Colon, laden with 
provisions, and, what was more needed by Vasco Nunez, a 
reinforcement of one hundred and fifty men. The governor of 
Hispaniola had previously authorized Balboa to act as his 
lieutenant, and was supporting him in order to further his 
claim as Vice-roy in Tierra Firme. In addition, Serrano 

' Balboa writes, — "Most powerful Sire : There is one great favor 
that I pray your Royal Highness to do me, since it is of great import- 
ance to your service. It is for your Royal Highness to issue an order 
that no bachiller of laws, or of anything unless it be of medicine, shall 
come to these parts of Tierra Firme, under a heavy penalty that your 
Highness shall fix ; because no bachiller ever comes hither who is not 
a devil, and they all live like devils, and not only are they themselves 
bad, but they make others bad, having always contrivances to bring 
about litigations and villainies. This is very important to your High- 
ness' service in this a new country." 

Antipathy to lawyers has existed in all ages. The English serfs and 
villeins under Wat Tyler and John Ball held London for three weeks, 
destroyed all legal documents they could lay hands on, beheaded the 
Lord Chancellor, and killed many lawyers ; "for the rioters believed 
that the members of that profession spent their time forging the chains 
which held the laboring class in subjection." 

One hundred sixty-eight 



DB BALBOA 

brought to Vasco Nunez a commission as Captain-General of 
the colony, signed by Pasamonte, the king's favorite at Santo 
Domingo. Balboa had sent gold to both the governor and 
treasurer of Hispaniola, and both were now aiding him. 

By these ships came also a private letter from Zamudio, who 
was in Spain, which gave Vasco Nunez considerable anxiety. 
The Bachiller Encisco had denounced Balboa and Zamudio 
before the Council of the Indies, and succeeded in arousing the 
wrath of Ferdinand against the two alcaldes. As the former 
was the gainer, and not present to defend himself, he received 
most of the blame. Vasco Nuiiez was proceeded against 
criminally for the loss of Nicuesa, and in the civil courts was 
cast in the expenses incurred by Encisco. Besides this, Balboa 
was to be recalled to answer to the king; and it was rumored 
that Ferdinand intended to appoint another governor of Darien. 

Colmenares and Caicedo had not yet reached Spain, and it 
was evident that the acting-governor of Darien was in much 
disfavor at court. The next ship would bring a summons to 
appear before the king, and perhaps a successor. Not only 
Balboa's position, but his life was in peril, and it was essential 
that he quickly perform some signal service in order to appease 
the anger of his sovereign. Would a shipload of Indian slaves, 
a basketful of pearls, or a boatload of gold, purchase the favor 
of the rapacious old king? No! These things were already 
common, and the price must be still greater. 

Ever since Panciaco, Comagre's son, had told Vasco Nuiiez 
of a sea to the south, he had been dreaming of reaching it. 
Now, if ever, was the time to make the attempt, but the com- 
mander was still short of men. According to Panciaco, a thou- 
sand Spaniards would be none too many to overcome Tuba- 
nama and the other caciques. To wait for more arrivals meant 
a warrant for Balboa's arrest, and the glory left for some other 
man, probably the new governor, who would make a leisurely 
march across the mountains, and reap the reward handed over 
by Vasco Nunez. If there really was a sea to the south, Balboa 
resolved to find it with his little band or die in the attempt. 

For his expedition to discover the South Sea, Vasco Nuiiez 
de Balboa selected one hundred and ninety tried and experi- 
enced men, about all the garrison who were in good condition. 



One hundred sixty-nine 



VASCO NUNBZ 

A pack of European dogs/ each equivalent to a soldier, accom- 
panied the party. In addition, Balboa took along about a 
thousand natives to serve as warriors and packers. The 
Spaniards were armed with crossbows, arquebuses, swords, and 
targets ; and some wore helmets and breast-plates. Before leav- 
ing Antigua, Balboa informed his men of the hazardous nature 
of the enterprise; that death awaited failure; and that wealth 
and glory would reward success. Each was given an oppor- 
tunity to withdraw without prejudice from the undertaking, 
but none availed themselves of it. 

On the first day of September, 15 13, Vasco Nunez set out 
from Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien on his famous quest 
for the Pacific Ocean. The expedition was placed on board a 
brigantine and ten large canoes, and went by sea to the territory 
of cacique Careta, the father-in-law, in Indian fashion, of 
Balboa. They disembarked, on the fourth day, in a port near 
Careta's village, and were well received by that chieftain. This 
chief supplied provisions, guides, and some of the warriors ; he 
probably outlined the route to be followed by Vasco Nuriez; 
and is entitled to a share of the credit for the success of the 
venture. 

A guard was left behind with the boats, the padre invoked 
divine favor on the enterprise, and on the 6th of September, 
Balboa started from the north coast on his memorable march 
across the Isthmus. The second day brought the party to the 
lands of Ponca, who fled with his people, as he had done on 
the former visit by Vasco Nunez. Fighting and robbing were 
of secondary consideration on this trip. It was now good policy 
for the Spanish commander to make friends of the natives, 
in order to obtain assistance and not leave enemies in the rear. 
Accordingly, he made peaceful overtures to Ponca and the 
chieftain returned to his village bringing the white men ten 
pounds of gold and a number of finely wrought ornaments from 
beyond the mountains. Balboa knew how to win Indian friend- 
ship, and charmed Ponca with his manner, and dazzled him 

' Horses and dogs played such important parts in the overthrow of 
the Amerinds, that they should always be included in the enumeration 
of the Spanish forces. Among the dogs on this expedition was one 
belonging to Vasco Nunez, called Leoncico, or Little Lion. His sire 
was another famous dog, named Becerrico, of the island of San Juan 
(Porto Rico), the property of Juan Ponce de Leon. Leoncico was 
of a red color, with black muzzle, of medium size, but extraordinary 
strength. He could distinguish between an indio de guerra and an 
indio de pas, and when with a raiding party, drew a captain's pay and 
share of the spoils. 

One hundred seventy 



DB BALBOA 

with glass mirrors, hawk-bells and gewgaws. The chief gave 
information of the next ruler to be encountered, furnished 
guides for the secret passes, and described a mountam from the 
top of which the southern sea might plainly be seen. 

Vasco Nunez left here his sick and weaklings, and, on the 
20th of September, continued his march and followed Ponca s 
guides through the foot-hills. The next few days the Spaniards 
ascended the mountainous region and entered the province of 
Quarequa, governed by cacique Porque. On the 24th, this 
chief, at the head of one thousand warriors, barred the way, 
inquired the object of the visit, and threatened to kill all who 
should advance farther. Vasco Nunez formed his men and kept 
on ; when the brave Indians shouted their war-cries and charged 
upon the Spaniards. The latter repHed with their old cry: 
"Santiago y a ellos," and discharged the arquebuses. This was 
the first experience of these Indians with nre-arms. The dread- 
ful looking white men seemed to have thunder and lightning in 
their hands, and struck terror in the poor natives, who turned 
in flight. The Spaniards then attacked the Indians with their 
swords and inflicted great slaughter upon them. "Even^^as 
animals are cut up in the shambles," writes Peter Martyr, "so 
our men, following them, hewed them in pieces, from one an 
arm, from another a leg, here a buttock, there a shoulder." 
The native allies of the whites joined in the butchery, and 
settled many an old score with the people of Quarequa. The 
dogs were turned loose, overtook the fleeing Indians, and bit 
and tore their naked bodies. Surely, it was a great fight for 
the advance of civilization, and the propagation of the Christian 
faith ! 

The valiant Porque and six hundred of his warriors were 
killed, and many prisoners taken. Living and dead were 
relieved, none too gently, of their golden jewelry; and that 
night the Spaniards rested in the village of Quarequa, and 
feasted upon Porque's provisions. Ponca's guides were dis- 
missed with presents, and returned home with the welcome 
news of the downfall of Porque. 

The next morning, Tuesday, September 25, 15 13— St. Mar- 
tin's Day — Balboa mustered his sixty-seven well men and con- 
tinued the march. He was informed by the Quarequa guides 
that from an open space on the summit of the next mountain 
a view could be obtained of the southern sea. It was not from 
selfish motives that Vasco Nunez ordered his followers to halt, 
while he ascended the peak alone. What the Indians called a 
sea might be simply a lake, or a great interior swamp. This 

One hundred seventy-one 



VASCO NUi^BZ 

was to be the most momentous day in his Hfe; and if he had 
misinterpreted the natives, or if they had deceived him, Balboa 
w^anted no one to witness his disappointment. 

Alone he mounted the summit, at ten o'clock in the morning, 
and with throbbing heart and eager eyes looked out to the 
south — and there was the South Sea, just as the Indians had 
told him. Vasco Nunez dropped on his knees and gave thanks 
to the Creator for permitting him to be the first European to 
behold the new sea." When he arose, he beckoned to his com- 
panions to join him. The soldiers rushed up the summit, gazed 
in wonder on the sea, and with their commander, knelt down 
and gave praise and thanks to God. The Conquistadores, how- 
ever cruel and rapacious, had one redeeming quality — they were 
ever ready to pray or fight. Balboa then addressed his men in 
these words: "You see here, gentlemen and children mine, 
how our desires are being accomplished, and the end of our 
labors. Of that we ought to be certain, for, as it has turned 
out true what King Comagre's son told of this sea to us, who 
never thought to see it, so I hold for certain that what he told 
us of there being incomparable treasures in it will be fulfilled. 
God and His blessed Mother, who have assisted us, so that 
we should arrive here and behold this sea, will favor us that 
we may enjoy all that there is in it." The soldiers replied with 
cheers, and renewed their pledges of fidelity to Vasco Nufiez. 

"As Hannibal showed his soldiers Italy and the promontories 
of the Alps," observes Peter Martyr, "so he promised his 
associates a great reward for their labors past." A devoted 
clerigo, called Andres de Vera, led the party in chanting the 



"John Keats, with a truly poetical disregard of the facts of history, 
gives this honor to Hernando Cortes, whose march to Nicaragua was 
his nearest approach to Panama. "On first looking into Chapman's 
Homer," in 1815, Keats penned the following lines, and sent them to 
his friend Clarke : 

"Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, 
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; 
Round many western islands have I been 
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. 
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told 
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne: 
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene 
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold : 
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies. 
When a new planet swims into his ken ; 
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes 
He star'd at the Pacific — and all his men 
Looked at each other with a wild surmise — 
Silent, upon a peak in Darien." 

One hundred seventy-two 



DB BALBOA 

"Te Deum laudamus" and "Te Dominum confitemur," after 
which Balboa, in a loud voice, took formal possession, for the 
crown of Castile, of this Southern Sea, its islands and firm 
lands, and all shores washed by its waters. The names of the 
Spanish sovereigns were cut in the trees, crosses erected, and 
stones heaped ; the Indians assisting in the work, entirely uncon- 
scious of its significance. The notary, Andres de Valderrabano, 
who afterwards shared his commander's fate, drew up a certi- 
cate of the discovery, with a list of the names of the sixty- 
seven white men present." 

As a matter of fact, Balboa did not view from this point a 
vast extent of sea, with a limitless surf-beaten coastline extend- 
ing east and west, as imaginative writers describe the scene. 
He was only about half-way across the Isthmus, and what he 
saw, over and between the verdure-clad hills beyond, was 
mainly the Gulf of San Miguel projecting northwards into the 
Isthmus; and a 'hazy and indefinite stretch of the Gulf of 
Panama in the distance. 

Descending the Sierra towards the body of water he had seen, 
Vasco Nuiiez encountered cacique Chiapes and his people, 
who disputed the passage through his land. Gun-powder, cold 
steel, and bloodhounds showed him the error of his way, and he 
took to the brush. After defeating the Indians, it was always 
Balboa's policy to win their friendship, with an incidental con- 
sideration. He sent messengers after Chiapes, and graciously 
permitted that chieftain to purchase his favor with five hundred 
pounds of gold. The Spanish leader camped in the town of 
Chiapes, and sent back the men of Quarequa, with some showy 
presents, and instructions for the Spaniards left at their town 
to join him. His treatment of the other Indians was not lost 
on Chiapes, who became a firm friend of the white commander. 
From this place, Vasco Nutiez sent out three parties of twelve 
men each, under Francisco Pizarro, Alonso Martin, and Juan de 
Escaray, to search in different directions the shortest way to 
the sea. Alonso Martin was the first to reach the water, and 
it took him two days to find it. He saw two canoes lying high 
and dry, and was astonished to see no water; but soon the 
tide came in, and floated the canoes ; when Alonso Martin got 
into one of them and exclaimed to his company on the shore : "I 
call on you all to witness that I am the first Spaniard to sail 
upon these waters." One of his men then jumped into the 
other canoe, and claimed second honor. Returning to Chiapes, 



" Given at the end of this chapter. 

One hundred seventy-three 



FASCO NUNBZ 

the detachment reported to their commander that they had 
found the sea. 

On the 29th of September, Vasco Nunez, with twenty-six 
men, marched to the shore, accompanied by Chiapes and a 
retinue of Indians. They found the tide out, so rested in the 
shade until the water returned. When the sand was covered, 
Vasco Nunez, with sword and armor on, waded into the sea up 
to his thighs. Waving aloft a banner, on one side of which 
were pictured the Virgin and child and on the other the arms 
of Castile and Leon, he cried in a loud voice : "Long live the 
high and powerful monarchs Don Fernando and Doha Juana, 
sovereigns of Castile and of Leon and of Aragon, in whose name 
and for the royal crown of Castile, I take and seize real and 
corporeal actual possession of these seas and lands, and coasts 
and ports and islands of the south, with all thereto annexed; 
and kingdoms and provinces which belong to them, or which 
may hereafter belong to them, in whatever manner and by 
whatever right and title acquired, now existing or which may 
exist, ancient and modern, in times past and present and to 
come, without any contradiction. And if any other prince or 
captain, Christian or infidel, of whatever law or sect or condi- 
tion he may be, pretends any right to these lands and seas, I 
am ready and prepared to contradict him, and to defend them 
in the names of the present and future sovereigns of Castile, 
who are the lords paramount in these Indies, islands and firm 
land, northern and southern, with their seas, as well in the arctic 
pole as in the antarctic, on either side of the equinoctial line, 
within or without the tropics of cancer and Capricorn, accord- 
ing to what more completely to their majesties and their suc- 
cessors belongs and is due for the whole and any part thereof; 
as I protest in writing shall or may be more fully specified and 
alleged on behalf of their royal patrimony; now and in all 
time while the earth revolves, and until the universal judgment 
of all mankind." '" 

It being the feast day of St. Michael the archangel, Balboa 
called the water Bl Golfo de San Miguel; a name it still retains. 
The escribano, Andres de Valderrabano, made official record 
of the acto de posesion, to which were added the names of the 
twenty-seven Spaniards present ; nearly all of whom had been 



" "To which grandiloquent harangue there came no reply ; no armed 
Poseidon appeared to dispute possession ; only the mighty ocean dashed 
from its face the bHnding glare of this new doctrine, heaved its bosom 
in long glassy swells, and gently growled its perplexity to the 
sympathizing beach." — Bancroft. 

One hundred seventy-four 



DB BALBOA 

with their leader when he discovered the sea from the moun- 
tain-top. These were the first Christians to set foot in the 
South Sea, and with their hands dipped up the water and placed 
it in their mouths to prove that it was salt like the Mar del 
Norte (Caribbean). 

There being nothing left in or out of sight to claim, the 
Spaniards reverted to their usual occupation. Under the 
friendly guidance of Chiapes, they fell upon his enemy, Cocura, 
who lived on the other side of a large river, and skilfu/ly 
relieved him of six hundred and fifty pesos worth of gold. 
On the 17th of October, Vasco Nunez, with eighty Spaniards^ 
went in canoes to explore an arm of the gulf. Chiapes endeav- 
ored to dissuade the white chief from going on this trip, be- 
cause of the danger of navigating at that season; but Balboa 
replied, "Our God will protect us," for that much increase of 
the church would result from the great treasure which must be 
acquired to enable the kings of Castile to wage war against 
infidels. Nevertheless, the great tide of the Panama gulf 
rushed in and nearly overwhelmed the party, and they were* 
glad to escape to an island, where they passed the night in water 
up to their waists. Chiapes and his train accompanied the 
expedition, and helped to save the Spaniards, which no doubt, 
he regretted in after years. With the aid of the Indians, the 
whites patched up their broken canoes and started out again. 

After two days of hazardous navigation, Vasco Nunez went 
up a small stream which flowed through a region called Chitar- 
raga, but which he named the province of San Lucas. Chief 
Tumaco believed he owned that part of the earth, and resisted 
the white invaders ; but being wounded, he and his village took 
to flight. Chiapes sent runners after the fleeing chieftain, 
telling him what nice people the strangers were, and what won- 
derful things they gave for a few common ornaments. Tuma- 
co's son interviewed Vasco Nunez, and being well received, 
informed his father, who came in, bringing six hundred and 
fourteen pesos of gold, besides a basinful of pearls, two hun- 
dred and forty of which were of extraordinary size. The 
pearls filled the white men with a joy which Tumaco could not 
understand, as he valued the oyster, which he could eat, much 
more than the pearl which he could not eat. He sent out his 
pearl fishers, and in four days they gathered twelve marks, or 
ninety-six ounces of pearls. The Indians were accustomed to 
open the oysters by roasting them, thereby discoloring the 
pearls; so the Spaniards showed the natives how to open the 
shells without heat, with greater dihgence, indeed, than they 

•One hundred seventy-five 



VASCO NUJS^BZ 

exhibited in teaching the Christian doctrine, which was the con- 
dition under which Pope Alexander VI. donated the Indies to 
Spain. 

Tumaco told Vasco Nunez that the firm land and seacoast 
extended far to the south, where dwelt a great nation, possessed 
of much wealth, who sailed the ocean in great ships, and em- 
ployed beasts of burden. The animals especially interested the 
Europeans, as so far, no large domestic quadrupeds had been 
found in the New World. Tumaco then moulded in clay a 
rough image of the Peruvian llama, which the Spaniards 
thought must be a species of camel. "And this," says Herrera, 
"was the second intimation Vasco Nuiiez had of Peru, and of 
its wealth." Captain Francisco Pizarro was with Balboa at the 
time, and doubtless pondered over this information, and made 
inquiries on his own account. 

Vasco Nunez deemed it prudent to enact another act of pos- 
session on the main ocean, so Tumaco rowed him out on the 
Gulf of Panama in his biggest and finest canoe. The oars of 
this state barge were inlaid with aljofar, an inferior pearl ; and 
the Spanish commander directed the escrihano to write down 
that on this South Sea, which he had discovered, were large 
boats propelled by oars inlaid with pearl. The party landed on 
the seashore near an island called Crucraga, but which was 
renamed San Simon. Here, on the 29th day of October, 15 13, 
Balboa, with sword and banner, uttered the same all-embracing 
claim, "swearing to defend he knew not what against he knew 
not whom," as Bancroft puts it. 

About five leagues westward in the sea, could be seen a group 
of islands, ruled by a powerful cacique who kept the seaboard 
in terror. At the largest island, called Toe in the native tongue, 
were found the finest pearls along that coast ; so Vasco Nunez 
named it Isla Rica, and the group Islas de las Perlas. He pro- 
mised his newly made friends, Chiapes and Tumaco, that he 
would return some day, and go out to the islands and kill the 
bad chieftain who was called Dites, and promised himself to 
obtain those magnificent pearls. 

Having more than accomplished the object of his expedition, 
Balboa decided to return to Darien, wishing, doubtless, to send 
an early report of his great discovery to the king. By a weary 
and hazardous march overland through an unknown and hos- 
tile country, he had found that sea which Columbus and the 
other navigators in the West Indies vainly sought through a 
strait. The natives on this Mar del Sur told him that the 
coastline extended without limit in either direction, and gave 

One hundred seventy-six 



DB BALBOA 

him confirmation of the existence of the great nation to the 
southward which Panciaco had made known to him. In addi- 
tion to possessing boundless wealth and great ships, as the 
young cacique had stated, Balboa had learned from Tumaco 
that they made use of a beast of burden, which must be the 
camel of the East. It looked as if Spain, at last, by a western 
route, had gained access to that part of the Indies which 
Portugal had recently succeeded in reaching by the east. 

Vasco Nuiiez took a different route going back; so on the 
3rd of November he was carried in canoes to the northern 
extremity of the Gulf of San Miguel, and entered a large river 
(probably the Rio Sabana). The company landed in the district 
of Teaochoan, which was pacified in the usual way; Chief 
Teoca contributing one hundred and sixty ounces of gold, and 
two hundred large pearls to the Spaniards. Balboa rested three 
days in Teoca's village, and then took leave of his South Sea 
friends. Chiapes, with whom were left some disabled Span- 
iards, wept at the parting; and Teoca, who had just been 
robbed, joined in the briny grief at the departure of the heav- 
enly visitants. 

The Indians supplied corn and dried fish for the trip, and 
Teoca's son guided the white men and native packers through 
the passes and over the hills. Although it was the latter part of 
the rainy season, they suffered from thirst, as the springs on 
which the guides depended had dried up ; but the Indians aided 
the weary Spaniards until they could reach a refreshing stream. 
The next victim of the white invaders was a repulsive looking 
cacique by the name of Poncra, who fled from his village, but 
was overtaken and induced to come back. It reads as if the 
native allies of the Spaniards used deception in order to get 
Poncra in their power. Vasco Nuiiez asked him whence came 
his gold ; to which the chief replied that he did not know ; that 
what he possessed was left him by his forefathers, and that they 
placed no value on the unwrought metal. Torture was applied, 
but could elicit nothing further. The neighboring caciques told 
horrible tales of his wickedness and brutality, and begged that 
he be killed. In a moment of weakness, or perhaps from policy, 
Balboa acceded to their request ; and Poncra, with three of his 
principal men, was torn in pieces by the Spanish dogs. Perhaps 
Poncra was the cruel monster his neighbors claimed him to be 
and deserved his fate ; but it seems to me that his death was the 
darkest episode in the short but illustrious career of Balboa 
on the Isthmus. 

Vasco Nuiiez found three thousand pesos worth of gold in 

One hundred seventy-seven 



VASCO NUr^BZ 

Poncra's town, and remained there a month, during which 
time he was joined by the Spaniards left with Chiapes. Balboa 
renamed the Indian settlement, Todos Los Santos. He brought 
about a peace with Poncra's successor, and received a present 
of two thousand pesos from a chief called Bononiama, who 
came to see him. 

On December ist the Spaniards resumed their homeward 
journey, loaded down with gold; and in five days arrived at 
the residence of Buquebuca, who had fled because he was too 
poor to entertain such renowned visitors. The Christians con- 
doned his poverty by robbing him of even that which he had. 
One day, as the Spaniards trudged along the trail, a voice 
from a cliif exclaimed: "O mighty men! Our King Chioriso 
sends greetings, and presents this offering, begging your assist- 
ance in vanquishing an enemy too powerful for him;" at the 
same time giving the Spanish commander thirty large gold 
plates, worth fourteen thousand pesos. Vasco Nufiez was tired 
of marching and fighting, and in a hurry to reach Antigua, so 
postponed aiding Chioriso, and sent him three axes, some gilt- 
beads, leather and cloth; keeping the thirty golden plates, of 
course. 

This return march was to the westward of the route followed 
by Balboa when he went southward to discover the sea ; so he 
arrived, on the 13th of December, in the district of Pocorosa, 
west of Comagre. Cacique Pocorosa deserted his town, but 
was won over in the usual way, and separated from his gold 
and slaves. Many of the Spaniards were ill and worn out, and 
Vasco Nunez decided to tarry here for thirty days. Adjoining 
Pocorosa lived the famous Tuhanamd, of whose power and 
wealth Panciaco had informed the Spaniards. In spite of his 
debilitated company, Balboa determined to subdue this chief- 
tain, though failure meant loss of life and all the glory of what 
he had accomplished. With seventy picked men, and a body 
of warriors, Vasco Nunez made a forced march and fell on 
Tubanama's town by night, capturing the cacique and his 
household. 

The neighboring chiefs said Tubanama was worse than 
Poncra, and told of his brags to drag the Christians to death 
by the hair of their heads. They clamored for his life, but 
Balboa believed a live friend was better than a dead enemy, and 
decided not to kill him. Pretending great severity, he ordered 
Tubanama to prepare for death, telling him he would be thrown 
into the river, as the chief threatened he would do with the 
Spaniards. With tearful eyes the cacique begged for his life, 

One hundred seventy-eight 



DB BALBOA 

and declared that envious enemies had spread these tales about 
him. Touching the sword of Vasco Nunez, the chieftain ex- 
claimed: "Who that had any brains would contend against 
this macana, which at one blow can cleave a man in two?" 
Apparently softened by his entreaties, the Spanish leader slowly 
relented, and spared his captive's Ufe. The overjoyed Tuba- 
nama stripped his wives and concubines of their bracelets and 
nose-rings, to the value of six thousand pesos, and gave them 
to the Spaniards. He denied the existence of mines in his 
territory but Balboa tested the soil, ; and beheving it auriferous, 
planned to establish a settlement at that place. 

Vasco Nunez, with a train of slaves, returned in triumph to 
Pocorosa, and shortly afterwards fell sick with a fever, the 
result of his hardships and exposures. In a litter borne by 
Indians, he resumed his march and came to Comagre. The 
old cacique was now dead, and Panciaco, who reigned in his 
place, was delighted to see the chief of the Christians again, 
and hear of his exploits. Panciaco collected more gold for his 
distinguished guest, and in return was given a linen shirt and 
Christian baptism, receiving the name of Don Carlos. Under 
the tender nursing of the young cacique, Balboa soon recovered 
his health; and on the 14th of January, 15 14, proceeded on his 
way and arrived at the village of Ponca. At this place he was 
met by four Spaniards from Antigua, with the information that 
two vessels, laden with provisions and recruits, had come from 
Hispaniola. Leaving the greater part of his company to follow 
at their leisure, Balboa selected an escort of twenty men and 
hastened onward. 

After a brief stop in Careta, where he was heartily greeted 
by his Indian father-in-law, Vasco Nunez embarked in a bri- 
gantine awaiting him in that port, and sailed for Darien. On 
the 19th of January, 15 14, Vasco Nunez de Balboa entered 
Antigua in triumph, amid the plaudits of the people, who 
escorted him to the plaza, where he told them of the victories 
of the Spanish arms, and of the wonderful Southern Sea. 

Without counting the value of the pearls, cotton cloth, and 
other articles brought back by Vasco Nuiiez, the gold amounted 
to at least forty thousand pesos. When the remainder of the 
party arrived, the spoils were equitably divided, and those who 
stayed behind also received a portion. Beside the royal fifth, 
two hundred of the finest pearls were set apart as a gift to 
the king. In a letter to Ferdinand, dated March 4, Balboa gave 
a detailed report of his late expedition, compared by Peter 
Martyr to the celebrated letter from Tiberius to the Roman 

One hundred seventy-nine 



VASCO NU^BZ 

senate. And in all his long letter, "containing such signal and 
new news * * * there is not a single leaf written which 
does not contain thanks to Almighty God for delivery from 
perils, and preservation from many imminent dangers." Vasco 
Nuiiez requested that he be appointed governor of the region 
discovered by him, and supplied with means for further explor- 
ation on the Mar del Sur. The letter and presents were 
entrusted to Pedro de Arbolancha, an intelligent and reliable 
man, who sailed a few days later for Spain. 

Despite my assertion that the passage of the Isthmus in 15 13 
was an easier task than it is today, I hold that in performance, 
as well as in result, it was one of the greatest expeditions 
of the Conquest. Aside from the discovery of the South Sea, 
Balboa had conciliated every cacique along the route. He 
could do what few other commanders could — retrace his march 
and be welcomed everywhere as an illustrious friend. All this 
had been accomplished during the rainy season on the Isthmus, 
and without a single reverse, or the loss of a man. I doubt if, 
today, a company of one hundred and ninety white men, with 
modern hygienic precautions, could wander over the Isthmus 
for four and a half months without a single fatality. 

The Spanish colonists at Antigua, by adopting the customs 
of the natives, had largely adapted themselves to their environ- 
ment. Maize and other crops had been planted and harvested, 
and with plenty of food and gold, and slaves and women at 
their command, the rough pioneers settled down to a fairly 
harmonious existence. Balboa had demonstrated his ability and 
fitness to command; and under his practical and tactful ruler- 
ship both whites and natives promised to enjoy benign and 
peaceful government." Spanish amusements and fiestas were 
revived, and Cemaco's old capital became a Spanish pueblo. 

I wish I could stop here and state, like the narrator of a 
fairy tale, that Vasco Nunez and his people lived happily ever 
afterwards, but agencies in Spain were already so shaping the 
future as to bring distress on the colony, annihilation to the 
natives, and untimely and cruel death to Vasco Nunez. 

Had Ferdinand governed the Isthmus and Castilla del Oro 
through his officers at Santo Domingo, much suffering and dis- 
aster would have been avoided. Indeed, each European colony 

" "No one need hope to rule this land," writes Vasco Nunez to the 
King, "and sit or sleep; for if he sleep, he will never wake. Day and 
night I think only of your Majesty's interests. In every battle I lead 
my men, and with truthful example, and kind treatment of the natives, 
seek to bring into favor your Majesty's government in these parts." 

One hundred eighty 



DB BALBOA 

established in America suffered from the control of a remote 
home government, until it became strong enough to successfully 
declare for independence. 

List of the men with Balboa when he discovered the Pacific Ocean : 

"Los cayalleros e hidalgos y hombres de bien que se hallaron en el 
descubrimiento de la mar del Sur, con el magnifico y muy noble Senor 
el_ capitan Vasco Nunez de Balboa, gobernador por Sus Altecas en la 
Tierra-Firme, son los siguientes : Primeramente el Senor Vasco Nunez, 
y el fue el que primero de todos vido aquella mar e la ensefio a los 
infrascriptos. 



Andres de Vera, clerigo. 

Frangisco Pigarro. 

Diego Albitez. 

Fabian Perez. 

Bernardino de Morales. 

Diego de Texerina. 

Chripstobal de Valdebuso. 

Bernardino de Cienf uegos. 

Sebastian de Grijalba. 

Francisco de Avila, 

Johan de Espinosa. 

Johan de Velasco. 

Benito Buran. 

Andres de Molina. 

Antonio de Baracaldo. 

Pedro de Escobar. 

Chripstobal Daca. 

Francisco Pesado. 

Alonso de Guadalupe. 

Hernando Mufioz, 

Hernando Hidalgo. 

Johan Rubio de Malpartida. 

Alvaro de Bolanos. 

Alonso Ruiz. 

Francisco de Lucena. 

Martin Ruiz. 

Pasqual Rubio de Malpartida. 

Francisco Goncalez de Guadal- 

cama. 
Francisco Martin. 
Pedro Martin de Palos. 
Hernando Diaz. 
Andres Garcia de Jaen. 



Luis Gutierrez. 

Alonso Sebastian. 

Johan Vegines. 

Rodrigo Velazquez. 

Johan Comacho. 

Diego de Montehermoso. 

Johan Matheos. 

Maestre Alonso de Sanctiago. 

Gregorio Ponce. 

Francisco de la Tova. 

Miguel Crespo. 

Miguel Sanchez. 

Martin Garcia. 

Chripstobal de Robledo. 

Chripstobal de Leon, platero. 

Johan Martinez. 

Valdenebro. 

Johan de Beas Loro. 

Johan Ferrol. 

Johan Gutierrez de Toledo. 

Johan de Portillo. 

Johan Garcia de Jaen. 

Matheo Locano. 

Johan de Medellin. 

Alonso Martin, esturiano. 

Johan Garcia Marinero. 

Johan Gallego. 

Francisco de Lentin, siciliano. 

Johan del Puerto. 

Francisco de Arias. 

Pedro de Orduna. 

Nuflo de Olano, de color negro. 

Pedro Fernandez de Aroche. 



Andres de Valderrabano, escribano de Sus Altecas en la su corte y 
en todos sus reynos e Seiiorios, estuve pressente e doy fee dello, e digo 
que son por todos sessenta y siete hombres estos primeros chripstianos 
que vieron la mar del Sur, con los quales yo me halle e cuento por uno 
dellos : y este era de Sanct Martin de Valdeiglesias." 

Oviedo, lib. XXIX, cap. IIL 



One hundred eighty-one 



CHAPTER XL 




PEDRO ARIAS DE AVILA 

Pedrarias 

"The Wrath of God" — " The Timur of the Indies" 

"And then a horror in the night, 
And shots, and fire, and knives. 
And demons yelling in delight, 
As men fought for their lives." 

Caroline Hazard. 

HE long time required in those days to com- 
municate between the Old and the New World 
is accountable for many of the wrongs related 
in this chapter. 

Soon after the first Spaniards settled at 
Darien, the deposed Bachiller Encisco was per- 
mitted to depart for Spain to present his com- 
plaints to Ferdinand; and Zamudio, Balboa's 
fellow alcalde, embarked on the same vessel to 
defend the actions of himself, Vasco Nunez, 
and the colonists. With loud and bitter denun- 
ciation of Vasco Nunez, Encisco succeeded in stirring up the 
wrath of the king ; and he resolved to appoint a new governor 
of Tierra Firme, who should call Balboa to account. As usu- 
ally happens in this world, the pathfinder and pioneers had 
found the road and cleared the way; and the king's favorite 
was now going out to reap the fruits of the labor of others. 

From the many applicants for the position, Ferdinand 
selected an elderly gentleman of Arias in Segovia, named Pedro 
Arias de Avila ; known to English historians as Davila, and by 
his Spanish contemporaries as Pedrarias. He was a colonel of 
infantry, having served with honor in the war in Africa; and 
had rich and influential connections who secured the favor of 
Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos, the head of the Council of the 
Indies. In youth, Pedrarias had been gay, and noted for his 
feats in the tournament; whence his nicknames El Galan (The 
Gallant) and El Justador (The Jouster). In America the 
monks dubbed him "Furor Domini," for the same reason that 
Attila merited the awful title of the "Scourge of God." 

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PBDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

The arrival of the Darien deputies, Colmenares and Caicedo, 
in May, 15 13, did not change the decision of the king; and on 
the 27th of July, 15 13, he commissioned Pedrarias to be gover- 
nor of Castilla del Oro in Tierra Firme. In his instructions, 
Ferdinand ordered that Castilla del Oro be now called Castilla 
Aurifica; and the old limits changed so as to extend, according 
to Oviedo, from Cabo de la Vela to Veragua. This, it will be 
seen, included all of Ojeda's grant (Nueva Andalucia), and 
that part of Nicuesa's territory (Castilla del Oro) comprised 
in the eastern half of the Isthmus. 

Colmenares and Caicedo told the king what Panciaco said 
about the existence of a Southern Sea, and that a thousand 
soldiers were thonught necessary for the attempt to find it. 
The number of men for Pedrarias was fixed at twelve hundred, 
and the money-loving Ferdinand spent the enormous sum of 
fifty thousand ducats on the expedition; which was to reach 
by the west, if possible, the Spiceries and those parts of India 
barred to him by an eastern route, on account of the Pope's 
donation to Portugal. The search for a strait had not ceased, 
but if that South Sea or Indian Ocean (or whatever sea it was) 
could be reached by land, the discovery of a waterway would 
follow later. It seemed as if the dream of the 0I4 admiral 
might come true after all. 

Colmenares and Caicedo also repeated that Indian tale, 
heard at Cenu, of a river so full of gold that the natives fished 
it out with nets as it was washed down from the mountains; 
and every Spaniard in Spain believed he was particularly 
adapted for that kind of fishing. Though the messengers were 
swollen, and "yellow as people in the jaundice" from the effects 
of the bad climate, the story caught the popular fancy and 
excited another rush for the Indies, like that of the second 
voyage of Columbus. Still another cause increased the number 
of applicants eager to go with Pedrarias. The victory of 
Ravenna, gained by the French over Spain and her allies, stimu- 
lated Ferdinand to raise volunteers for the defense of his 
Neapolitan possessions. These troops he intended to place 
under the command of Gonzalo de Cordova, but becoming 
jealous of the popularity of his Gran Capitan, the king aban- 
doned the expedition. 

When Pedrarias arrived at Seville to enlist his force he 
found the streets filled with disappointed cavaliers and soldiers 
ready to engage in any sort of adventure. Instead of twelve 
hundred men, fifteen hundred were enrolled, and two thousand 
remained behind, pensive and sighing, who gladly would have 
gone at their own cost. In place of the heavy iron armour, 

One hundred eighty-four 



PEDRARI AS 

which was both oppressive and unnecessary in combatting the 
natives of the tropics, the soldiers were equipped with wooden 
targets and coats of quilted cotton. The settlers were pro- 
mised free grants of land, repartimientos of Indians, and min- 
ing privileges for ten years by the payment of one-fifth of the 
gold to the crown. Other products of the country could be sent 
home free of duty. As an additional inducement, the king 
ordered that no lawyer should go to Tierra Firme for four 
years. Altogether, according to Pascual de Andagoya, it was 
"the best equipped company that had ever left Spain." 

Pedrarias^ held a grand review of his force in the plaza of 
Seville, and on the nth of April, 15 14, the fleet of seventeen or 
eighteen vessels sailed from San Lucar. It was a notable 
expedition, as among the company were the following : 

Licenciado Caspar de Espinosa, alcalde mayor. 

Fray Juan de Quevedo, the first bishop of La Antigua and of 
Castilla del Oro, at the head of a company of Franciscan friars. 

Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, veedor and 
escribano general, later the first chronicler of the Indies. 

Alonso de la Puente, treasurer. 

Diego Marquez, contador. 

Juan de Tabira, factor. 

Bachiller Encisco, alguacil mayor. 

Juan de Ayora, the governor's lieutenant. 

Luis Carrillo, captain. 

Antonio Tello de Guzman, captain. 

Diego Albites, captain. 

Francisco Davila, captain. 

Diego de Bustamente, captain. 

Gonzalo de Badajoz, captain. 

Francisco Compafion, captain. 

Juan de Zorita, captain. 

Francisco Vasquez Coronado de Valdes, captain. 

Francisco Hernandez, captain. 

Gaspar de Morales, cousin of Pedrarias. 

Bernal Diaz del Castillo, historian of the conquest of Mexico. 

Hernando de Soto, discoverer of the Mississippi. 

Diego de Almagro, one of the conquerors of Peru. 

Benalcazar, the destined conqueror of Quito. 

Pascual de Andagoya, chronicler of the early period, one 

* "The admiral of the fleet and new governor of Terra Firma was a 
man over seventy years of age, named Pedrarias Davila, one of those 
two-legged tigers of whom Spain had so many at that time." — John 
Fiske, Discov. of Amer., 11, p. 377. 

One hundred eighty-five 



PBDRO ARIAS DB AVI LA 

of the first regidores of Panama, and inspector general of 
the Indians. 

Juan Serrano, chief pilot of the fleet, subsequently killed with 
Magellan. 

With the Governor went his wife, Dofia Isabel de Bobadilla, 
niece to that Marchioness de Moya, favorite of Queen Isabella, 
who interceded for Columbus. Pedrarias left his four sons and 
four daughters in Spain. He was given lengthy instructions, 
in the preamble of which the salvation of the Indians and the 
spread of the sacred Catholic faith were given as excuses for 
invading Tierra-firme. Profiting by the experience of the 
Spaniards in Hispaniola, the Council of the Indies formulated 
some very good rules. How they were obeyed will be seen 
later. Pedrarias was charged to look well after his people, 
to prohibit the use of cards and dice, to punish murder, theft 
and blasphemy, to tolerate no lawyer in the colony, and to be 
tender and truthful in his dealings with the Indians. The latter 
were to be attracted to Christianity by the good works and 
shining example of the Spaniards. This last rule makes one 
smile, but it is not nearly so mirthful as the "Requisition" 
ordered to be read to the Indians before engaging in the 
slaughter. The Requisition {El Requerimiento) had been 
framed by Dr. Palacios Rubios, a member of the Council, and 
other jurists, and was the same as the notice given by Ojeda at 
Calamar, and Encisco at Cenu. 

The fleet of Pedrarias soon ran into a storm and put back 
for repairs. Setting out again, the voyage continued pleasant, 
and they arrived at the Caribee Islands, where they stole some 
natives for slaves. At one of these landings, a servant of 
Pedrarias named San Martin was disrespectful to Ayora, and 
when the Governor heard of it, he ordered his lieutenant to 
hang the fellow to the first tree, which was done,. The fleet 
sailed again and came to the harbor of Santa Marta, where 
they stopped to inquire about eleven Spaniards, left there by 
Rodrigo de Colmenares. Colmenares, with an Indian inter- 
preter, endeavored to confer with the natives, but the only 
reply was a shower of poisoned arrows. The next day Pedra- 
rias ordered three hundred men to land, under command of his 
nephew, to secure some Indians. Oviedo went ashore with 
this party, bearing that formidable Requisition with him. The 
natives paid no attention to the curious document, but pressed 
the invaders so hard that the following morning the Governor 
came to the relief of Ayora with a thousand men-at-arms. 
After a slight skirmish, the Indians dispersed, and the Span- 
iards returned to their ships with a few captives. Continuing 

One hundred eighty-six 



PBDRARIAS 

westward along the coast, the fleet touched at Isla Fuerte, and 
soon entered the Gulf of Uraba, and came to anchor June 29, 
near Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien. 

A few days after the departure of Pedrarias, Pedro de 
Arbolancha arrived in Spain, and presented the report of Vasco 
Nuiiez, announcing the discovery of the South Sea. He told 
his story, delivered the king's fifth of the gold, and with it the 
two hundred beautiful pearls filched from Tumaco. Ferdi- 
nand was really sorry — sorry for his anger against Vasco 
Nunez, but still more did he regret the thousands of ducats 
spent on old Pedrarias. What the king of Spain hoped to 
accomplish with his fine expedition Balboa had achieved with 
his heterogeneous band of unruly followers. The news of a 
South Sea created almost as much furor as the discovery of 
Columbus. The west door to India had been found in Spain's 
hemisphere, and she could now enter the East and gather the 
harvest of spices, gums, silks, and jewels. 

The delay of two months or less in despatching Arbolancha 
from Antigua not only cost Balboa his head, but the lives of 
millions of American natives. Had the king received the 
information a few weeks earlier, Vasco Nunez would not have 
been deposed nor prosecuted; Balboa, in place of Pizarro, 
would have been the logical pacificator of Peru ; the admirable 
Incan civilization would not have been wiped out; and there 
would have been instituted an entirely different policy in deal- 
ing with the Indians of the Isthmus, Nicaragua, and Peru. 

It appears there was some discussion among the four hun- 
dred and fifty Spaniards at Antigua as to receiving the new 
arrivals ; but Vasco Nunez counseled peace, and it was agreed 
that they should go out unarmed and in the peaceful garb of 
magistrates. When an officer from the fleet, clad in silks and 
brocades, sought Balboa, he found him in cotton shirt and 
drawers, with alpargatas on his feet, directing the work of some 
Indians in thatching a house. "I come from Don Pedrarias de 
Avila, lately appointed governor of Darien," said the mes- 
senger. 

"Say to Don Pedrarias that he is welcome to Antigua," 
replied Balboa. 

On the 30th of June, 15 14, Pedrarias disembarked at the 
landing, a league from the town, and formed his brilliant 
retinue. Holding his wife, the Doiia Isabel by the hand, and 
with the bishop, in his episcopal robes, on the other side, the 
Governor headed the march to Antigua, the friars chanting 

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PEDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

the Te Deum. The colonists, tanned and sallow from the 
climate, came out to meet them, and the two leaders greeted 
each other with great courtesy. Vasco Nunez conducted 
Pedrarias and his suite to his own house, and the others were 
billeted among the settlers. 

The very next day the Governor sent for Balboa, and with 
gracious words ("muchas palabras dulces"), complimented him 
on his successes, told him how much his services were appre- 
ciated by the king — and would he please write down all he had 
learned of that country, everything he had done, and what he 
was intending to do. Vasco Nunez has been dealing with 
Indians for so long that he forgets the malevolent craft of his 
countrymen, and courteously accedes to the honeyed request. 
Balboa went to his house and spent two days making out a 
report of the land, and of his administration for the guidance 
of Pedrarias. In nothing is the guilelessness and generosity 
of Balboa better shown than in his willingness to give his suc- 
cessor the benefit of his long experience in the Indies, and his 
four years' government of Castilla del Oro. 

According to law, Balboa took his residencia, and Pedrarias, 
having extracted all the information he wanted from Vasco 
Nuiiez, instituted civil suits against him for damages done to 
Encisco and others. Balboa was condemned to pay several 
thousand castellanos, and also imprisoned; but he was soon 
released in consideration of his services to the colony. The 
instructions from the king required that the Governor take no 
important step without consulting his principal officials, and 
Espinosa and Quevedo sometimes shielded Vasco Nuiiez from 
the vengeance of Pedrarias. 

It was not long before the newcomers suffered from the 
effects of the climate, and also from starvation, as much of 
the food brought over by the fleet had been spoilt by the sea. 
The old settlers were the survivors of the fittest out of several 
thousand men, and they had experienced great difficulty in 
securing sufficient food to maintain their existence. The 
sudden accession of fifteen hundred white men found the town 
and neighboring country unable to support them. Hidalgos, 
in silks and brocades, wandered about Antigua and dropped 
dead from hunger ; and in less than a month seven hundred 
of the unseasoned Europeans perished.^ Pedrarias got sick, 
and with guards and food, retired for a time to a more healthy 
spot, not far from Antigua. 

' At this time, about lOO colonists, including Bernal Diaz, went from 
Darien to Cuba, and took part in the discovery and conquest of Mexico. 

One hundred eighty-eight 



PBDRARIAS 

On receiving the report brought by Arbolancha, King Fer- 
dinand sent out orders to Pedrarias to establish a line of posts 
from sea to sea, in accordance with the plan of Vasco Nunez ; 
to build a town on the Gulf of San Miguel, and likewise three 
or four caravels to be placed in charge of skillful captains for 
exploration on the South Sea. Pursuant to this order, the 
Governor sent his lieutenant, Juan de Ayora, with four hundred 
men in a ship and three caravels westward along the coast to 
locate the first blockhouse, and from there to proceed across 
the Isthmus. At a small port in the territory of Pocorosa, he 
built the initial post, called Santa Cruz; but his chief concern 
was torturing the caciques to make them give up their gold, 
enslaving the men, and carrying off the women. Careta, Pan- 
ciaco, Ponca, and the other chiefs who had been pacified by 
Vasco Nunez, and who had furnished provisions when the 
Spaniards were in want, suffered the same as if they had been 
hostile Caribs. This was the first expedition sent out by 
Pedrarias, and it inaugurated that long reign of plunder, 
rapine, and murders which nearly exterminated the Isthmian 
tribes. 

The malignant cruelty and vicious depravity displayed by the 
white men under Pedrarias is almost beyond belief. The gentle 
killings by Balboa, often necessary by reason of his little band, 
sink into insignificance before the wholesale atrocities and 
butcheries committed upon the Indians by Pedrarias and his 
officers. Says Oviedo, the king's inspector at La Antigua: 
"In this expedition Juan de Ayora not only omitted the Requi- 
sitions and summoning it was his duty to make to the Indians 
before attacking them, but took them by surprise at night, tor- 
turing the caciques and chiefs, demanding gold from them. 
Some he roasted alive, some were thrown living to the dogs, 
some were hanged, and for others were devised new forms of 
torture. Their wives and daughters were made slaves and 
divided according to the pleasure of Juan de Ayora and the 
other captains." 

Ayora was repelled and wounded by a chief called Sacativa, 
and turned back to revenge himself on Pocorosa; who was 
warned by a friendly Spaniard, named Eslava, and took to 
flight. The author of the notice was discovered by Ayora and 
narrowly escaped hanging. One of the caciques thought it 
was his friend, Vasco Nunez, who was going through the 
country, so prepared a feast and went out to meet the great 
white Tiba. He soon found out his mistake. Ayora tortured 
him until he gave up all his gold, and angry because it was no 
more, caused the unhappy Indian to be burnt alive. The 

One hundred eighty-nine 



PEDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

lieutenant left a garrison of eighty men at Santa Cruz, and 
marched southward, robbing and murdering as he went. "This 
infernal hunt lasted several months." 

"What has God done with the lieutenant, Juan de Ayora?" 
asked the bishop of the Governor ; and Bartolome Hurtado was 
sent out to hunt for the long-absent commander. Hurtado 
found Ayora, rivaled him in rapine, and returned before the 
lieutenant to Antigua, loaded with plunder and more than a 
hundred peaceable Indians (Indies de pas). To avert enquiry, 
he gave six Indians to the Governor, six to the bishop, and four 
each to the alcalde mayor, the treasurer, the contador, and the 
factor. Then the king's fifth was taken out, who happened to 
be carriers loaned by Careta, immediately sold by auction, 
branded and most of them carried over sea to other parts. 
Needless to add, Hurtado was not molested in his possession 
of the remainder. 

Meanwhile, Juan de Ayora came to the lands of Tubanama, 
and was resisted by that valorous chieftain; but succeeded in 
establishing a post there, which he left in charge of Meneses. 
Instead, however, of continuing across the Isthmus, as ordered, 
he left his captains in the field, and returned to Antigua with 
his gold and slaves. The latter were distributed among the 
royal officers, while Ayora made ofiF with the gold in one of the 
vessels, which he and his intimates seized, and was never heard 
of more in Darien. Soon afterward, Francisco Becerra 
came in with seven thousand pesos of gold, and over a hundred 
captives, which he distributed so judiciously that he was imme- 
diately granted a larger command. With a hundred and eighty 
men and three pieces of artillery, he went to Cemi to avenge 
the death of forty-eight men lost by Francisco de Vallejo some 
time before. This was the place where the Bachiller Encisco 
held that famous conversation with the two caciques, and the 
Indians could defend themselves as effectively in war as they 
did in philosophy. They shot Becerra's men with their poisoned 
arrows, felled timber in the way, and destroyed the entire party 
when crossing a stream. The reader will observe that when 
the Spaniards met the natives on the water, they always suf- 
fered defeat. An Indian boy, servant to Becerra, was the only 
one to escape, and he carried the news of the disaster to 
Antigua. 

All the natives of Darien were now in a hostile mood, and 
the eighty men at Santa Cruz met much opposition in their 
forays for food. When the Indians made captives of the 
Spaniards, they poured melted gold down their throats,, cry- 
ing — Eat ! Eat gold. Christians ! Take your fill of gold ! One 

One hundred ninety -1 



PBDRARIAS 

night, about six months after its settlement, Pocorosa and his 
warriors fell upon the garrison of Santa Cruz and captured the 
fort ; only five Spaniards living to reach Antigua/ 

In 15 15, La Antigua, was given metropolitan privileges, and 
hence was the first European city on the continent of America, 
and the seat of the first Episcopal see. Charles V., on the 20th 
of July, 1520, gave Antigua the right to bear as its arms, gules, 
a golden castle, surmounted by a sun of the same, supported on 
the right by a tiger, and on the left by a crocodile ; with these 
words as a legend, La I mag en de Nuestra Senora del Antigua. 
About this time, Oviedo the veedor, who was a severe but 
just man, returned to Spain for the purpose of giving informa- 
tion of the proceedings in Darien. His excuses for going were 
the state of his health and a wish to see his wife. After taking 
his residencia, during which no charge was preferred, he was 
allowed to depart. The Governor sent word to the king that 
the bishop interfered too much in the government of the colony, 
and that his friars were unruly and dishonest ; and the bishop, 
on his side, accused the Governor of "avarice and inconstancy," 
and charged Oviedo to tell the king what a good fellow was 
Vasco Nufiez. So far the prelate seems to have been a friend 
to Balboa, though he sealed his fate when he advised the 
Governor not to send him for trial to Spain, where he would 
have been a hero, but to keep him within his power. 

In November, 151 5, Antonio Tello de Guzman set out from 
Antigua at the head of one hundred men to continue the work 
of establishing posts across the Isthmus, abandoned by Ayora. 
He reached the fort in Tubanama just in time to relieve the 
besieged Meneses. Taking the reduced garrison with him, 
Guzman entered the province of Chepo, where he was feasted 
by the cacique and presented with a large amount of gold. 
While they were eating, a young chief rushed in,^ denounced 
Chepo as a usurper, and promised the Spaniards twice as much 
gold as Chepo had given if they would reinstate him. The 
request was irresistible, and Cacique Chepo was hanged on the 
spot; seven of his principal men being given to the dogs. 

As Captain Guzman neared the South Sea he heard much 
mention of a place called Panama, and thought it must be a 

'Oviedo writes that Panciaco joined Pocorosa, and that they killed 
every Spaniard at Santa Cruz. Andagoya says that no one remained 
alive except a woman, whom the chief took for himself,^ and lived with 
as his wife for several years. "His other wives being jealous that the 
chief liked her better than them, killed her, and gave their lord to under- 
stand that an alligator had eaten her, when she went to bathe in the 



One hundred ninety-one 



PBDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

large town abounding in wealth and pearls. The word panamd, 
in the Indian tongue, signified "a place where many fish are 
taken ;" and the Spaniards were much disappointed when they 
found only a collection of fishermen's huts. This was the first 
visit of white men to the site where was located, afterward, the 
renowned city of Old Panama. Guzman rested here, and sent 
Diego de Albites with eighty men to ravage the rich province 
of Chagre, ten leagues distant. Albites did his work well, 
joined Guzman at Pacora, and the entire party returned to 
Tubanama. From there to Antigua their march was a con- 
tinuous combat. Flaunting the bloody raiment of slain Span- 
iards, the natives cried : "Behold the fate of the accursed, who 
leave their homes to mar the peace of unoffending nations." 
Pocorosa, flushed with his victory at Santa Cruz, harassed the 
Christians so effectively that they were very glad when they 
found themselves again among their fellows in Darien. 

An expedition, composed of two hundred men, was des- 
patched up the river of Darien to seek the golden temple of 
Dabaiba. The old colonists wished Balboa for leader, but 
Pedrarias gave half the command to Luis Carillo. The com- 
pany started out in canoes, in June, 1515, and after ascending 
the river for some distance, was beset by the natives. The 
hostile canoes, filled with Indians, darted out from the over- 
hanging foliage; and the Spaniards were attacked from all 
sides. Being expert in the water, the warriors dived under, 
and overturned the Spanish boats; and Luis Carillo with half 
the expedition were lost. Vasco Nunez and the survivors then 
returned to Antigua.* 

The failure of several attempts to reach Dabaiba did^not 
deter the gold-mad Spaniards from trying again. The greater 
the hazard, the richer grew the wealth of the mythical temple. 
Juan de Tabira, the factor, and Juan de Birues, the inspector, 
built three brigantines, collected more canoes, and led about 
one hundred and sixty men in quest of the sacred shrine. The 
Indians could not overturn the brigantines, and were beaten 
off; but the temple gods sent a great flood, which uprooted 
trees, swamped the factor's vessel, and drowned both leaders. 
Francisco Pizarro, who was one of the outfit, was asked to 
assume command and continue up the river, but he declined. 
The forlorn would-be robbers went back to Antigua, and, for 
a time, efforts to reach Dabaiba were abandoned. 

* Another account says that Balboa succeeded in reaching Dabaiba, 
and that he was wounded in the face with a wooden sword, and in the 
arm by an arrow. This region abounded in locusts, upon which the 
people fed. 

One hundred ninety-two 




Permission of the Smithsonian Institution. 

DAY-AK, A SAN BLAS CHIEF, FROM RIO DIABLO. 



PBDRARIAS 

In recognition of his distinguished services, Ferdinand, in 
15 15, appointed Vasco Nunez de Balboa Adelantado of the 
South Sea and of the government of the provinces of Coyba 
and Panama ("Adelantado de la Mar del Sur y de la goher- 
nacion de las provincias de Coyba e Panama.") This excited 
the envy of Pedr arias, and for a time he held up the commis- 
sion ; an action opposed by Quevedo. Fearing lest his popular 
rival should be given supreme authority on the south coast of 
the Isthmus, the Governor hastened to send a detachment of 
eighty men to the South Sea. The expedition was placed in 
charge of Caspar de Morales, the Governor's cousin, with 
Francisco Pizarro second in command; and they were ordered 
to go out to the Pearl Islands and secure the pearls spoken of 
by Balboa. 

On the way. Morales and his men arrived at an Indian village 
when the people were celebrating a festival; during which it 
was the custom for the men and the women to sit apart. 
Morales seized the women, and carried them off, which so 
enraged the Indians that twenty chiefs swore to destroy the 
Christians. Unfortunately, Morales got wind of the con- 
spiracy, captured the twenty chieftains, and gave them to his 
dogs to tear to pieces.^ 

On reaching the south coast of the Isthmus, half the com- 
mand, under Penalosa, a relative of Dona Isabel, was quartered 
on a cacique named Tutibra, while Morales, with the remainder, 
stopped with a neighboring chief called Tunaca. Chiapes and 
Tumaco were still loyal to the Spaniards, and helped to supply 
canoes and warriors with which to proceed to the Pearl Islands 
and help subdue their terrible enemy, King Dites. With their 
forty Spaniards and a fleet of natives. Morales and Pizarro 
started out one evening from the mainland. The sea was 
rough, and it was not until the following day that the expedi- 
tion reached one of the smaller islands, where a landing was 
effected with but little resistance. The invaders then passed 
over to the largest island, named Isla Rica by Balboa, the chief 
residence of the king. Dites and his warriors fought valiently 
and kept up a stubborn fight, until Chiapes and Tumaco spoke 

" Oviedo writes of two chieftains encountered by Captain Becerra — 
"This Cacique bore the name of father-in-law, because, when the 
Christians came here, they took (or he gave them, from fear) three 
or four daughters among the captains, and on account of this unwilling 
hospitality, they dubbed him "The Father-in-law" [El Suegro], but 
his real name was Mahe. The other Cacique they called "The Burnt 
One" [El Quemado], because actually and without cause, they burnt 
him because he did not give as much gold as they demanded." — Lib. 
XXIX., Cap. X. 

One hundred ninety-three 



PBDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

to the king, told him how useless it was to resist the white men, 
and prevailed upon him to submit. Dites conducted the stran- 
gers to his "palace" (as the old chroniclers generally called the 
chief's house) and presented Morales with a basket of large 
and lustrous pearls, receiving in exchange some mirrors, 
hatchets and hawk-bells. 

In order to belittle the achievement of Vasco Nunez, Morales, 
pursuant to orders from Pedrarias, took another possession of 
the South Sea, and renamed Isla Rica, Isla de Flores. The 
priest baptized the king, giving him the name of Pedro Arias ; 
and imposing an annual tribute of one hundred marks of pearls, 
the Christians departed for the mainland. They found the 
country stirred up on account of the outrages perpetrated by 
Peiialosa, and in revenge. Morales renewed his butcheries, 
killing seven hundred Indians in one hour. 

The Christians then went to the eastern end of the Gulf of 
San Miguel, attacked cacique Biru by night, and set fire to his 
towns. The people fled at first, but returned and fought the 
Spaniards all the next day. The Indians were finally driven 
off, but Morales thought it best not to stay long in Biru. While 
recrossing the cordillera, the whites were so hard pressed by 
the natives that Morales resorted to the "Herodian cruelty" 
of beheading his captives at intervals along the trail, hoping 
the gory spectacles would delay the pursuing Indians. Toiling 
along in the hot humid climate, and valorously repelling the 
onslaughts of the hostile inhabitants, the Christians managed 
to get back to Antigua, sill clinging to their stolen treasures. 

In March of this same year, 15 15, Gonzalo de Badajoz, with 
one hundred and thirty men, sailed from Antigua, and landed at 
Nombre de Dios. No Europeans had touched here since the 
remnant of Nicuesa's company had been rescued by Vasco 
Nunez. In the grass and brush could be seen heaps of stones, 
crosses, and dead men's bones ; grim reminders of the fate of 
their countrymen, and which might be theirs also. Starting 
southward from this place, in the direction of the South Sea, 
the first chief encountered was Totonagua, on the mountains 
back of Nombre de Dios. Gold to the value of six thousand 
pesos repaid the white men for the favor of their visit. On the 
southern side of the Sierras, a chief called Tataracherubi not 
only contributed eight thousand pesos to the Spaniards, but 
told them of the wealth of his neighbor on the southwest, called 
Natd, with but few fighting men. Alonso Perez de la Rua, with 
thirty men, went after Nata's gold, and soon found himself 
among a large settlement of Indians. Retreat was impossible, 
but by securing the person of the cacique, Perez threatened 

One hundred ninety-four 



PBDRARIAS 

Nata, who ordered his warriors to desist. Badajoz soon came 
up, and Nata was forced to give up fifteen thousand pesos. 

After remaining in Nata for two months, the Christians 
visited the village of Escoria, ten leagues to the south, where 
they secured nine thousand pesos. Farther west lived a chief 
called Biruquete, who had a blind neighbor ; and together they 
produced gold to the value of six thousand pesos. Other vil- 
lages in this region were visited and plundered, including 
Taracuri, Pananome, Tabor, and Chiru. Some of these names 
still persist on the Isthmus. 

In these parts was a cacique called by the Spaniards Parizao 
Pariba, later abbreviated to Paris. The cacique and his people 
took to the mountains, and Badajoz sent him a message threat- 
ening to follow him with the dogs if he did not return. Paris 
begged to be excused on account of business; and would the 
leader of the Christians please accept a little present from his 
women. The gift so depreciatingly presented consisted of 
breast-plates, bracelets, nose-rings, and coronets, to the value 
of forty or fifty thousand castellanos ; carried by four Indians 
in baskets lined with deerskin. Where there was so much 
wealth there must be more. Pretending to be well pleased, 
Badajoz passed on ; but returned later, surprised the cacique 
in his village one night, and obtained as much more gold as 
Paris had sent him. 

Cacique Paris was just as well versed in strategy as Captain 
Badajoz. He sent one of his men in advance of the Spaniards, 
who, when captured, said he belonged to a village three leagues 
distant. The next question, of course, was concerning gold ; 
and he told them his village was full of it. The Indian was 
on his way to the river to fish, but would turn back cheerfully 
and show them the way; and Badajoz promptly sent a detach- 
ment to bring in the treasure. 

When the Spaniards were divided, Paris, with four thousand 
warriors it is claimed, fell upon one party and almost exter- 
minated it before the other came up. After losing seventy of 
their number, the remaining Spaniards abandoned all treasure, 
cut their way through the multitude of redskins, and fled to the 
territory of Chame. From here they went out to an island 
belonging to Tabor ; and from thence to the island of Tahoga. 
The Spaniards remained a month on Taboga, recruiting their 
strength for the homeward march. They then returned to the 
mainland, where Alonso Perez de la Rua lost his life ; and the 
battered remainder of the company found their way back to 

One hundred ninety-five 



PEDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

Antigua, carrying nothing but the stories of the immense trea- 
sures they for a time possessed. 

The administration of Pedrarias was meeting with nothing 
but disasters." Every expedition that went out was assailed or 
destroyed, and there was no gold coming in; and what were 
they there for if not to get gold. The melting-house {Casa de 
la Fundicion) was closed, the bishop said prayers, and public 
fasts were ordered. 

The old Governor resolved to show his young captains how a 
raid should be conducted, and directed his first blow at Genu, 
where the wise cannibal caciques successfully resisted the Span- 
iards. So unpopular was this region that Pedrarias told his 
soldiers he was going to Pocorosa, and steered in that direction ; 
but at night ordered the pilots to turn about to the east, and 
the next morning they were ofif the river of Genu. Gaptain 
Hurtado with two hundred men, being two-thirds of the 
entire force, made a landing and fired the village. There was 
the usual killing, a few captives were taken ; and having enough 
of the poisoned arrows, Pedrarias sailed again to the west 
towards Pocorosa. 

About the region of Gareta was a port from which a trail led 
across the Isthmus. The Indians called the place Ada, signify- 
ing in their language "Bones," or "Bones of Men ;" in memory 
of sanguinary battles fought there by two neighboring tribes, 
ruled by rival brothers. Here the Governor began the con- 
struction of a wooden fort to replace the one destroyed at 
Santa Gruz, further west; the first of a new line of posts to 
extend to the South Sea. The old Governor's energy, as he 
assisted in the work, did not last long in that sultry climate; 
and he was carried to Antigua with a fever. 

Gabriel de Rojas was left in command at Ada to complete 
the unfinished fort ; and Gaspar de Espinosa, the young alcalde 
mayor, started southward with a force of men to have his turn 
at the poor natives. The young licentiate of the schools of 
Salamanca, ennuyed by the closed court at Antigua, entered 
into the sport with the keenest zest. Espinosa has left a verbose 
account of the entrance (la entrada) which he made in the 
provinces.' All his killings were done strictly according to his 

* "All the enterprises of Pedrarias proving unlucky, Valboa laughed 
at and mocked him, whereat the governor became so irate, that they 
came to serious contention." — Benzoni, p. 73 (Hakluyt Soc, No. 21"). 

^ "There are some whom travel improves but little, though like Had- 
dad Ben Ahab, they should climb to the top of the world's wall and 

One hundred ninety-six 



PBDRARIAS 

interpretation of the law — either the king's law or his own. 
When the terrified Indians fled from the Spaniards it was con- 
sidered prima facie evidence of guilt, and they were killed or 
enslaved. Those of Pocorosa's people suspected of participa- 
tion in the Santa Cruz affair, were hanged, burnt, or shot from 
the cannon's mouth. 

Espinosa writes that he went to Poquina's land, where the 
Indians set fire to their huts and ran away. He sent the 
reverend Dean (dean of the padres at Antigua) with one squad, 
and a man named Ojeda with another to fight them; and they 
brought back some Indians. Later, the Licenciado came to the 
province of Tamame, from whence he despatched all the cap- 
tains to explore the Rio Grande. About this time Espinosa 
met the dejected Badajoz, returning empty-handed to Antigua. 

look down the other side. Our juvenile judge was not one of these. 
Bonum est fugienda adspicere in alieno malo, was his motto. It is good 
to note in the misfortunes of others what we should avoid, for so 
Publius Syrus has said. He would go to the wars as a warior, not 
plodding his way wearily over mountain and through morass, like a 
common foot-soldier, but he would enter the domain of the enemy 
mounted, and in a manner becoming a general and a judge. Athena 
went to war mounted on a lion, Alexander on a horse, Espinosa on— 
an ass. History gives the licentiate this honor, and as an honest man, 
I cannot deny it him ; he was the first to cross the Isthmus on an ass. 
Some horses had of late been brought to Antigua, which were em- 
ployed to a very limited extent in the wars of Tierra Firme and also 
on the present occasion; but the alcalde mayor preferred to bestride 
an ass; it was a more judicial beast, not to say surer- footed or more 
safe. Did not Mahomet choose an ass on which to ride to Heaven? 
There was another advance. Several pieces of artillery were dragged 
across the Isthmus in this expedition. 

"When the savages first beheld the conquering hero borne triumph- 
antly through crowds of admiring spectators, they fell back dumb- 
founded. They knew the force of Spanish steel; bloodhounds they 
knew, and arquebuses vomiting fire and hurling thunderbolts. But 
what was this ? Its eyes were not fiery, nor its nostrils distended, nor 
its teeth flesh-tearing. Its countenance betokened mildness, and mind- 
absence, such as attend benevolent contemplation; there was in it 
nothing of that refined lust or voracious piety which characterized the 
faces of the Spaniards. And surely Apollo was in error when he gave 
Midas such ears because he could not appreciate music. For listen to 
its notes. Ah, that voice! When Sir Balaam lifted up his voice the 
savages fled in terror. Tremblingly they returned and enquired for 
what the creature was asking. The Spaniards replied that he was 
asking for gold; and during the campaign his musical beast brought 
the licentiate more gold than did ever Leoncico earn for Vasco Nunez. 
And throughout that region the learned licentiate became known to the 
natives by the noble animal that he bestrode, so much so that those 
who entered the Spaniard's camp to see the general used to announce 
their object by braying like an ass, an appeal to which the chief officer 
ever obligingly responded."— Hu^. of Cent. Amer., vol. I., p. 419. 

One hundred ninety-seven 



PBDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

Hearing of the gold retaken from Badajoz, the alcalde mayor 
wrote Pedrarias for reinforcements, so he could go after the 
treasure. Badajoz claimed that privilege for himself. 

Espinosa crossed the cordillera to Panama, where he found 
a few huts and one woman; and then proceeded to Chiru. 
The chief, with his women and gold, was taken. Fifteen hun- 
dred castellanos were secured at Nata one night, and the 
cacique and his warriors pursued by the mounted soldiers. 
Cacique Nata rallied his forces, but they fled in terror before 
the horses.* Espinosa found plenty of provisions, including 
geese and turkeys, in this region, so rested at Nata. One day 
the chief, without arms, rushed into his village, and exclaimed 
to the Licenciado: "You are too strong for me. You have 
taken my warriors, my wives, my children ; do with me as you 
please." For once, Espinosa was kind; but there appears to 
have been a motive in his gentleness. After restoring to Nata 
his wives and children, the licentiate demanded the gold retaken 
from Badajoz. The cacique declared that Paris had kept it all 
himself ; so the Spanish commander sent a delegation of natives 
to demand of him the treasure. Paris hanged all the mes- 
sengers but two, with whom he sent back a threat to treat in 
like manner all Christians caught in his domain. 

On the 29th of July, 15 16, all the Christians were confessed 
by the priest; "and in the name of God," writes Espinosa, he 
set out to kill Paris. The Indian chiefs, in council, had deter- 
mined to fight, rather than give up the gold. They ambushed 
the advance-guard of eighty Spaniards, under Diego Albites, 
and would have destroyed it, had not the licentiate arrived with 
the main body. The horses and bloodhounds soon had the 
natives on the jump, and twenty caciques and a host of warriors 
were slain. That night the chief justice slept on the field of 
battle, and the next day was joined by Valenzuela, with a 
reinforcement of one hundred men from Antigua. They 
started after Paris, and came upon his town, but found it in 
ashes. That wily chieftain and all his people had fled to the 
hills, carrying the treasure with them. 

Searching parties were sent out in different directions, under 
Albites, Hurtado, and Pedro de Gamez. The latter heard the 

* Note the ease with which horses crossed the Isthmus and pursued 
the Indians. Whereabouts today, except on the bed of the Panama 
Railroad, could a troop of cavalry pass from sea to sea? In time, 
however, the highways in course of construction by the Isthmian Canal 
Commission will extend from one end of the Canal Zone to the other, 
and ultimately enable wheeled vehicles to travel between Colon and 
Panama. 

One hundred ninety-eight 



PBDRARIAS 

gold was in the territory of cacique Quema, who, when tor- 
tured, gave up about thirty thousand castellanos; but denied 
knowledge of the remainder. Valenzuela and eighty men went 
toward the South Sea to seek large trees for canoes, in which 
to explore the coast. When two great canoes, each capable of 
holding seventy men, and three smaller ones, were secured, they 
were given in charge of Bartolome Hurtado, with a hundred 
Spaniards, to proceed by sea. Espinosa and the remainder of 
his force intended to follow the coast by land, but after floun- 
dering through the mud for four days, they decided to go back 
to Quema and look for the rest of that gold. 

Meanwhile, Hurtado rowed along the coast, and landed at a 
province called Guanata. The natives had fled, but on account 
of continuous rains, the Spaniards remained here seven days. 
Hurtado then continued his way, and in three days came to an 
island called by the Indians Caubaco ; doubtless the island now 
known as Cebaco, at the entrance of Monti jo Bay. The natives 
opposed his landing, but Hurtado was conciliatory and won 
their good will. When the cacique returned from the mainland, 
where he had been fighting, he gave Hurtado a golden armor 
valued at one thousand castellanos, and expressed a willingness 
to acknowledge the king of Spain, and embrace Christianity. 
Cebaco was so amiable that the Spaniards named him Cacique 
Amigo, and aided him and his brother Pequeari in an attack 
upon their enemy, who lived upon a neighboring island, called 
Isla de Varones' by the white men. These people bravely 
defended themselves in a log fortress, surrounded by a ditch, 
from which they were dislodged only by the artillery of the 
Spaniards. 

Hurtado took leave of the friendly Cebaco, and seven leagues 
farther west he arrived at another island, called Cabo, probably 
the modern Coiba. Here they got a little gold, and then steered 
for the mainland, where the inhabitants were so fierce they 
dared not land. Hurtado learned that he was opposite the 
provinces of Torra and Tabraba, and that it required only 
three days' journey across the land to reach the North Sea. 
The Spaniards continued westward by sea, but did not risk 
battle with the natives on the mainland, who gathered in num- 
bers on the shore, pounding war-drums and sounding conchs. 
It is stated that Hurtado traveled about one hundred and forty 
leagues, and went as far west and north as the Gulf of Nicoya 
in Costa Rica. I do not think this is probable. No doubt the 

* Probably Isla Gobernadora (or Gobernador), separated from Cebaco 
by the Boca del Gobernador, the middle entrance to Montijo Bay, 

One hundred ninety-nine 



PEDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

Spaniards visited the islands at the mouth of David (Pedragal) 
harbor, rounded Punta Burica, and entered Golfo Dulce. Near 
here were people called Chiuchires ; and to the westward was a 
great race of people, said to have double faces and rounded 
feet — perhaps an allusion to the Mayas. 

We must now be looking after that gold ; the chief quest of 
the Spaniards in the New World. Espinosa turned from the 
South Sea, and came to the land of Chiracona, noted for its 
brave men, beautiful women, and fierce tuyraes, or devils. The 
chief was tortured in the usual horrible manner, and disclosing 
no gold, was given to the dogs. While here, there occurred a 
terrible earthquake, which scared Christian and heathen alike. 
On the 2nd of January, 15 17, the alcalde mayor entered the 
province of Escoria, and soon after this, Hurtado returned 
from his voyage along the western half of the south coast of 
the Isthmus. 

Early in 15 17, Caspar de Espinosa, the alcalde mayor, estab- 
lished at the fishing village of Panama, on the South Sea, the 
southern station of the line of posts to traverse the Isthmus. 
Hernan Ponce, who had been with Hurtado in the canoe expe- 
dition, was installed as first commandant. Espinosa overthrew 
a few more chiefs, relieved them of their gold, and returned, 
half famished, to the North Sea. Vasco Nunez, then living at 
Ada, gave them food and furnished a vessel in which the party 
proceeded to Antigua. As became his rank and high office, the 
chief justice's stealings lead all the rest. Eighty thousand pesos 
was the value of the gold; beside two thousand captives for 
slaves. The poor Indians all died, either at Antigua or in 
Hispaniola. 

Vasco Nufiez de Balboa, having been appointed Adelantado 
of the South Sea, and Captain-Ceneral of the provinces of 
Coiba and Panama,^" tiring of his inactivity at Antigua, deter- 
mined to proceed to his territory on the south coast. He started 
in to raise a force without permission or aid from Pedrarias, 
and secretly despatched Francisco Caravito in a small vessel to 
Cuba, to secure volunteers and arms for the expedition. Cara- 
vito fulfilled his mission, and came back to Darien with seventy 
men and provisions. He anchored in a small bay some six 
leagues from Antigua, and sent word to Vasco Nuiiez. The old 

" Amid the muddle of names and queer orthography of the^ early 
writers of all nationalities who have written about this region, it is a 
satisfaction to come upon one appellation that has persisted un- 
changed. As Bancroft says : "The chart-makers of every name and 
nation give only Panama." 

Two hundred 



PBDRARIAS 

Governor got wind of the undertaking and was furious. He 
recalled the fate of Nicuesa, and became alarmed for his own 
safety. Pedrarias arrested Balboa and confined him (it is 
claimed) in a cage in his own house. The situation was soon 
explained, friends interfered, and Vasco Nunez was set at 
liberty. Nevertheless, there was no love lost between Vasco 
Nunez and old Pedrarias. 

It is best for man to work out his own destiny without the 
intervention of officious friends. Balboa's one friend in power 
at Antigua was Quevedo; and the bishop, unintentionally^, 
caused Vasco Nunez to be deprived of deserved honors, and 
brought about his downfall. Quevedo prevented Balboa being 
sent to Spain ; he induced him to relinquish some of his rights 
as Adelantado of the South Sea; and now he interfered to 
bring about a marriage betrothal between Vasco Nunez and 
Dona Maria, the eldest daughter of Pedrarias, and so bind the 
North Sea to the South Sea by the sweet bonds of love. The 
novia in this affair was still in a convent at Seville, in blissful 
ignorance of the important part she played in matters of State 
at Darien. Balboa was acquiescent, Dofia Isabel more than 
willing, and Pedrarias gave his consent. 

As the accepted son-in-law" of the Governor, Vasco Nunez 
was now free to prosecute his designs. He set out for Ada to 
prepare for the South Sea. The post had been destroyed by 
the Indians of Careta, and Olano, the successor of Gabriel de 
Rojas, and twelve soldiers killed. Balboa laid out a new town, 
appointed an alcalde and regidor, and required everyone to 
plant sufficient for his sustenance. It was at this time that 
Espinosa came back from his raid on the southern provinces, 
and the Adelantado accompanied him to Antigua, in order to 
enlist some of his men for his own expedition. In this, Balboa 
was successful, and returned to Ada with two hundred sea- 
soned robbers who had been with the chief justice. 

Vasco Nunez was so sensible and practicable in most affairs, 
and possessed so much knowledge of the Isthmus, that it is 
disappointing to read that he prepared at or near Ada materials 
for four brigantines, for use on the South Sea, all of which had, 
to be transported by hand across the cordillera. It would have 
been just as easy to hew timbers on the south coast as on the 
north, and much time and may lives would have been saved. 
"No living man in all the Indies," affirms Herrera, "dared at- 
tempt such an enterprise, or v/ould have succeeded in it, save 
Vasco Nufiez de Balboa." 

" Under Spanish law and custom, betrothal was considered almost as 
binding as marriage. 

Two hundred one 



PBDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

When the timbers, cordage, and anchors were ready, a great 
number of natives were rounded up to carry them over the 
Isthmus to the head of navigation in the Rio de las Balsas," 
which debouched into the Gulf of San Miguel. This place, 
selected by Captain Francisco Companon, was twenty-two 
leagues from Ada; and midway on the route, on the summit 
of the Sierra, twelve leagues from Ada, was built a fort for 
rest and protection. Thirty negroes are brought from Antigua ; 
and whites, blacks, and redskins toil and sweat under the her- 
culean task. The poor Indians, of course, get the worst of it. 
Though natives of the region, they sink and die from the 
unusual labor, and the unaccustomed way of domg things; 
driven by the restless energy of the white man. Vasco Nunez 
does not spare himself, taking the lead in the work. "In this 
he was the foremost because he was a strong man, and at that 
time about forty years of age; and in all labors he took the 
leading part." Bishop Quevedo, who shortly went back to 
Spain, testified before the Court that five hundred Indians 
perished in transporting these vessels ; and Las Casas says the 
number was nearer two thousand. It is worthy of note, on 
the authority of Herrera, that not one Spaniard nor negro died 
on the work. 

After the parts are all transported, it is found that much of 
the green wood is already worm-eaten, and useless. A great 
flood in the Rio Balsas carries off some of the lumber, covers 
the materials with mud, and drives the people to the trees to 
escape the waters. The Spaniards had killed or driven away 
so many natives that foraging parties brought in but few pro- 
visions. Says the Bishop of Chiapa, "When Vasco Nunez 
himself was forced to feed on roots it may well be imagined 
to what extremity six hundred Indian captives were reduced." 

But to the gold-mad Spaniards of the sixteenth century all 
things were possible. I'hey crossed the unknown seas in 
cockle-shells ; invaded latitudes and altitudes radically different 
from Spain ; ascended great rivers ; traversed mountain ranges ; 
subdued nations ; and annihilated people with culture, in some 
respects, superior to their own — all in quest of the precious 
metal. Instead of four brigantines, there is collected timbers 
enough for only two; and in these, Balboa drops down the 
river into the gulf which he had named after Saint Michael, 
and sails out upon the great ocean which he had discovered." 

^ River of the Rafts; doubtless the Rio Sahana (Savannah River), 
of modern maps. 

""Wild as had been the dreams of these ignorant and voracious 
men, dreams with their Indies and Araby isles, they fell far short of 

Two hundred two 



PBDRARIAS 

He goes first to the Pearl Islands, and from Isla Rica, sends 
his vessels back to the Rio Balsas to bring the rest of the com- 
pany and stores. Timber is cut and hewn on the south coast, 
and in time two more brigantines are constructed, making 
four in all. With a hundred men, Vasco Nunez took a cruise 
to the southeast, and after sailing twenty leagues, they ran 
into a school of whales, which so frightened the mariners that 
the Adelantado put into Puerto de Piiias on the mainland. 
This was the territory of Cacique Chuchuma, who had killed 
Bernardo Morales and his men. The natives now attacked 
Balboa, but were soon routed with great loss. The wind being 
contrary, the expedition returned to the Pearl Islands. 

In October, 1515, Oviedo left Darien and went to Spain. 
He reported the bad state of affairs on the Isthmus, and did 
his utmost to have Pedrarias removed from office. King 
Ferdinand died January 23, 15 16, and it was not until young 
Charles came into power that Lope de Sosa, acting governor 
of the Canary Islands, was appointed to succeed Pedrarias. 
A rumor of this change reached Ada, and was carried over 
to the Pearl Islands by one of Balboa's lieutenants. If the 
report proved true, the new governor might materially alter 
the plan of Vasco Nufiez for exploration on the South Sea. 

One evening Balboa was talking with Valderrabano, the 
notary, and a clerigo named Rodrigo Perez, concerning the 
coming of Sosa; and remarked, "It seems probable that he 
is either come or that there is news of his approaching arrival ; 
and if he is come, Pedrarias, my lord, is no longer governor, 
and we are defrauded of our hopes, and such labors as we 
have undergone are lost. In order therefore to know best 
how to proceed in this emergency I am of opinion that it 
would be well to send some faithful messenger to Ada for 
our further necessities ; and if the new governor has come, 
we will furnish our ships, and pursue our enterprise as best 
we can, trusting to his future approval. But if my Lord 
Pedrarias is still in power, he will allay our fears, and we 
will then set out upon our voyage, which I trust in God will 
succeed according to our wishes." 

"The wings of man's life are plumed with the feathers of 
death." While Vasco Nunez was speaking, it began to rain 
(as it generally does towards night in the tropics), and the 
sentinel, whose duty it was to guard the Adelantado's quarters, 
took shelter under the eaves of the shack wherein Balboa and 

reality. How could they dream of a Montezuma empire waiting 
expectantly to welcome the destroyer, or of an Inca faction so evenly 
balanced that so light a hell-flake as a Pizarro might turn it?" — Ban- 
croft. 

Two hundred three 



PBDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

his friends were sitting. This fellow heard part of his com- 
mander's words, and judged that he was proposing to sail away 
in his ships and shake off allegiance to Pedrarias or any other 
governor whose authority might interfere with his plans. In 
those days, every Spaniard was alert for plots and intrigues, 
and eager to discover something damaging to his betters, and 
profitable to himself. The sentinel turned the words over in 
his dull brain, and resolved to give the information where 
most welcome and where there was greatest hope of reward. 

Iron and pitch were needed to complete the two new brigan- 
tines, so Vasco Nunez sent Andres Garabito, Luis Botello, 
Valderrabano, and Fernando Mufioz to fetch the materials 
from Ada; with particular instructions to ascertain the truth 
about a change in governors. When near Ada, the party was 
to halt; and at night one of them would enter the town and go 
to the house of Vasco Nuiiez and learn from the servant 
whether Pedrarias was recalled. If Lope de Sosa had arrived 
at Antigua, his friends would return secretly to the South Sea, 
proclaim Balboa governor, and give him a paper purporting 
to be his commission. The latter was to deceive his command, 
so that they would follow him freely on his projected voyage. 

However much we are inclined to praise Balboa for the fine 
things he did, and bemoan his sad ending, we must also admit 
that he committed some rather stupid mistakes. It was a 
blunder to open his soul to Pedrarias on his arrival; it was 
foolish to give up any of his rights on the South Sea; it was 
stupid to build ships on one coast for use on the other; and 
the scheme which he and his friends concocted to deceive his 
men was childish and unnecessary. 

Encore, cherchez la femme ! It turned out that Garabito was 
a treacherous friend to Balboa. Las Casas writes that Andres 
Garabito fell in love with and sought to be intimate with 
Careta's daughter, the favorite of Balboa. The two men had 
some words over the Darien beauty, and Garabito slunk away 
and waited his turn for revenge. While putting the brigan- 
tines together on the Rio Balsas, he wrote to the Governor 
that Vasco Nuiiez intended to throw off allegiance to him as 
soon as he reached the ocean. To add insult to injury, Gara- 
bito affirmed that Vasco Nunez loved only the Indian girl, and 
never intended to marry the Governor's daughter. All of which 
simmered and seethed in the choleric bosom of old Pedrarias. 

Luis Botello went into Ada at night, as was agreed, and 
found out that the new governor had not yet arrived. There 
was then no further reason for secrecy. The next day Gara- 
bito set about to complete his revenge on Vasco Nunez. He 
frequented the public places, talked mysteriously, and threw 

Tzvo hundred four 



^ PBDRARIAS 

out dark hints concerning what Balboa intended to do on the 
South Sea. He was arrested, of course, and when carried 
before the magistrate, Garabito required no torture to extract 
his damnable story. Francisco Benitez, Notary of Ada, hunted 
up evidence against Vasco Nunez and carried it to Pedrarias. 
At this same time, Alonso de la Puente seems to have heard 
from the eavesdropping sentinel, and repeated the tale to the 
Governor. Pedrarias received a letter from Vasco Nunez re- 
questing an extension of the time granted him when he de- 
parted from' Antigua. The year and a half in which he should 
return was now up, and Balboa also wrote to the notary, Fern- 
ando de Argiiello, who had put a lot of money in the expedi- 
tion, to intercede with the Governor for more time. Pedrarias, 
as we may imagine, was in a bad humor, and made no promise, 
Argiiello then wrote to Vasco Nuiiez that the Governor would 
neither grant nor deny an extension of time, and advised him 
to put to sea at once. This letter was intercepted by Pedrarias ; 
and things began to look dark for the Adelantado of the South 
Sea. Already, Atropos was reaching for her shears. 

To give the vicious old man his due, one must allow that 
now Pedrarias had grounds on which to question the loyalty 
of his promised son-in-law. Ever since the Governor had 
come to Tierra Firme, Vasco Nunez had been as a thorn in 
his flesh. The first news he heard upon his arrival was that 
Balboa had found the South Sea. Disease and disaster had 
carried off his own party, and he knew that the people pre- 
ferred Vasco Nuiiez to himself. Pedrarias had tried to crush 
his rival, and failed. He was jealous of the fame and popu- 
larity of Balboa, and now that he could bring really serious 
charges against him, he decided in his heart that Vasco Nunez 
must die. 

In order to get Balboa in his power it was first necessary 
to lure him away from his three hundred followers on the 
South Sea, and get him to come to Ada. Pedrarias was an 
adept at dissimulation, so wrote a nice fatherly letter to Vasco 
Nunez begging him to come to Ada and confer with him. 
^TheVsummons was despatched in great haste, and Francisco 
Pizarro~"wa:s~Drdefed to take all the soldiers he could muster, 
and go out and arrest Balboa. In the meantime, the friends 
of Vasco Nunez, including Argiiello, had been arrested and 
imprisoned. 

The sun had set, and it was night on the Islands of Pearls. 
The air was heavy with the rich perfume of flowers, and the 
pacific waves of the South Sea broke lazily on the shores of 
Isla Rica. The sky was clear, and the Adelantado with his 

Two hundred five 



PEDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

friends strolled down upon the sands of the great ocean whose 
portals he had disclosed. He wondered why they had not heard 
from the party gone to Ada, and spoke of his intention to ex- 
plore the coast of Biru ; with a tender thought, perchance, 
for the bride-to-be" in faraway Castile. Gazing up into the 
starry heavens — which seem so bright in Panama Bay — Vasco 
Nunez saw the star which Micer Codro'" had pointed out to 
him as the harbinger of his destiny. "When you behold that 
star at yonder point, know that your fate approaches ; your 
fortune then will be in jeopardy, and your life in peril. But 
if you escape that danger, wealth and renown such as have 
fallen to the lot of no captain in all the Indies will be yours." 
In gay and careless mood, Vasco Nufiez turned to his com- 
panions and remarked, "A sensible man indeed would he be, 
who should believe in diviners. Behold I see my star in that 
part of the heavens which Micer Codro called dangerous, 
when I find myself with four ships and three hundred men 
on the Sea of the South, just about to navigate it." 

Even then, swift messengers were bringing the dissembling 
letter of Pedrarias which would seal his fate. They found 
Balboa on the little island of Tortugas. Conscious of no 
wrong, he suspected no treachery; and leaving his command 
in charge of Francisco Compafion, Vasco Nunez immediately 
set out to meet his father-in-law. On the road, the messen- 
gers, convinced of his innocence, told Balboa of recent events 
at Ada, and warned him that his life was in danger. He re- 
fused to believe it, and kept on. As Vasco Nufiez descended 
the mountains on the north slope of the Isthmus, he was met 
by the force sent to arrest him. When Pizarro advanced to- 
wards his old commander, the latter cast on him a reproachful 
look and exclaimed, "What is this, Francisco Pizarro? You 
were not wont to come out in this fashion to receive me!" 
Balboa made no resistance; and was conducted to Ada in 
irons, and confined in the house of Castaiieda. 

The farce of a trial was soon over. Puente, the treasurer, 
was the chief accuser, ably assisted by Diego Marquez and the 
bachiller Corral ; and urged on by the venomous Governor. 
Balboa was charged with being a traitor, and attempting to 

"Miss Maria (Maria de Penalosa) came out to the Indies as a 
governor's wife, after all. Her father first betrothed her to Balboa, 
whose head he chopped off; he then gave her to Rodrigo de Contreras, 
who succeeded Pedrarias as governor of Nicaragua. Her sister Isabella 
married Hernando de Soto, who, in 1538, returned to the Indies as 
governor of Cuba. 

" A Venetian astrologer who had come to Antigua. 

Two hundred six 



PBDRARIAS 

usurp the rights of the Crown; and the old accusations about 
Encisco and Nicuesa were revived. It was patent to all that 
Vasco Nunez and his principal friends were to be sacrificed to 
the fear and hate of Pedrarias. Balboa denied the treason, 
and plead innocence; but the Governor's party clamored for a 
verdict, and the alcalde mayor, Licenciado Caspar de Es- 
pinosa, reported to Pedrarias that Vasco Nunez was guilty, 
and had incurred the penalty of death; but recommended that 
his life be spared in consideration of his public service. 

Balboa claimed the right of appeal to the Council of the 
Indies, which was denied him; and then to the Jeronimite 
Fathers at St. Domingo, which was likewise refused. Espinosa 
shrank from having the blood of this cavalier and discoverer 
on his soul, and begged the Governor to grant the appeal. 
"No," said Pedrarias, "since he has sinned, let him die for it" 
{pues se peco, muera por ello) ; and ordered the sentence to 
be immediately executed by decapitation. Unfortunately, 
Quevedo, the bishop, was away in Spain. 

In the evening of that fateful day in Ada, 15 17, the guards 
brought forth the doomed men, heavily ironed, and wended 
their way towards the scaffold erected in the plaza. Before 
the little procession walked the town-crier, proclaiming in a 
loud voice, "This is the justice which our lord the King, and 
Pedrarias his lieutenant, in his name, command to be done 
upon this man as a traitor and a usurper of the lands subject 
to the royal crown." 

Hearing which, Balboa, raising his eyes to Heaven, said: 
"It is a lie and falsehood which is charged against me! Never 
did I entertain such a thought. It was always my intention to 
serve the King as a faithful and loyal vassal, and my desire 
to enlarge his domains with all my power and strength." 

The condemned men then confessed, and partook of the 
sacrament ; after which Vasco Nunez, with firm step and calm 
demeanor, placed his head upon the block. Like sheep, one 
after the other, his four friends implicated in the alleged con- 
spiracy were beheaded with him — Andres de Valderrabano, 
Luis Botello, Hernan Mufioz, and Fernando de Argiiello. 
When it came the turn of the last, darkness came on; which 
seemed to the people that God wished to stay the execution. 
They fell on their knees before Pedrarias and asked that 
Afgiiello's life be spared. "It cannot be," exclaimed the 
hoary-headed Governor, "I would sooner die myself than spare 
one of them"; and the spurting blood of Argiiello mingled 
with that of his companions. From between the canes form- 
ing the wall of a shack, only ten yards away, Pedrarias had 

Two hundred seven 



PBDRO ARIAS DB AVILA 

feasted his eyes on the gory spectacle;" but not satisfied with 
causing- the death of his great rival, he ordered that the head 
of Vasco Nuiiez be stuck upon a pole in the plaza; where it 
remained many days. 

Of those beheaded with Balboa, Valderrabano and Mufioz 
were with him when he first viewed the South Sea from the 
Sierra of Quarequa." According to Oviedo, Andres Gara- 
bito" was arrested and confined ; but turned Kmg's evidence 
against his party, and was released. At the time of his execu- 
tion, Vasco Nufiez de Balboa was about forty-two years of 
age. His death has ever been regarded as a juridicial assassi- 
nation, which has drawn upon its principal author the repro- 
bation of history."' 

"Time, which throws a misty cloud between the present and 
the past, and strips the hideousness from many iniquitous deeds, 
drops no friendly mantle over the horrors of that day at Ada. 
One century after another rolls by, and the colors on the can- 
vas deepen; the red gore dripping from the scaffold becomes 
redder, the black heart of Pedrarias blacker, and the generous 
qualities and brilliant achievements of Vasco Nunez shine yet 
brighter." — Bancroft. 

" "e desde una casa, que estaba diez 6 doge passes de donde los 
degoUaban (como carneros, uno a par de otro) estaba Pedrarias, 
mirandolos por entre las canas de la pared de la casa 6 bnhio." — 
Oviedo, lib. XXIX, Cap. XII. 

" Rodrigo Perez, the clerigo, was also involved ; but Pedrarias was 
afraid to kill a priest, so sent him to Spain. Perez came back with 
Salaya in 1522, as an arch-deacon ; which leads Oviedo to observe, — 
"From which it may be seen with what justice Vasco Nunez was con- 
demned, when his chief accomplice comes back not only acquitted but 
with honors." 

"Andres Garavito fell dead from his horse, while engaged in a 
game of canas in the new city of Leon, Nicaragua. Francisco Benitez, 
another informer against Balboa, when in Panama a few years later, 
died suddenly while lying in his hammock. 

" "The death of Vasco Nufiez was one of the greatest calamities 
that could have happened to South America at that time. He had 
collected his little fleet in the bay of San Miguel, and was about to 
sail away into the unknown ocean which he had discovered. He 
would thus have become the discoverer of the great empire of the 
Yncas, and the conquest of Peru would have formed a very different 
story from that which is now interwoven with the ill-omened name of 
Pizarro. For Vasco Nunez was one of those men who are born to 
govern their fellows. He had the true genius of a statesman and a 
warrior, was as humane and judicious as he was firm of purpose and 
indomitable of will. And this great man was destined to fall through 
the mean jealously of a miserable old dotard, whom chance had kicked 
into power." — Clements R. Markham. 

Two hundred eight 



PUDRARIAS 

"Thus perished in the forty-second year of his age the man who, 
but for that trifle of iron and pitch would probably have been the con- 
queror of Peru. It was a pity that such work should not have fallen 
into his hands, for when at length it was done, it was by men far 
inferior to him in character and calibre. One cannot but wish that he 
might have gone on his way like Cortes, and worked out the rest of his 
contemplated career in accordance with the genius that was in him. 
That bright attractive figure and its sad fate can never fail to arrest 
the_ attention and detain the steps of the historian as he passes by. 
Quite possibly the romantic character of the story may have thrown 
something of a glamour about the person of the victim, so that uncon- 
sciously we tend to emphasize his merits while we touch lightly upon 
his faults. But after all, this effect is no more than that which his per- 
sonality wrought upon the minds of contemporary witnesses, who were 
unanimous in their expressions of esteem for Balboa and of con- 
demnation for the manner of his taking off." — John Fiske, Discov. of 
Amer., vol. ii, p. 383. 



Two hundred nine 



CHAPTER XII 



LAST DAYS OF ANTIGUA 

And Settlement of Panama 



" The Cordillera guards the main 
As when Pedrarias bore 
The cross, the castled flag of Spain, 

To the Pacific shore ; 
The tide still ebbs a league from quay. 
The buzzards scour the emptied Bay." 

Edmund C. Stedman. 




E FEEL as did Peter Martyr, who, in writing 
of the acts of Pedrarias, says : "I will give 
them in few words, because they were all 
horrid transactions; nothing pleasant in any 
of them." Spain was much wrought up over 
the execution of Balboa by Pedrarias. Bishop 
Quevedo^ denounced him before the Court, 
but died soon after. Mainly through the 
efforts of Oviedo, Lope de Sosa was ap- 
pointed Governor of Castilla del Oro to settle 
matters in Tierra-firme ;and the young Carlos I. 
soon found his time fully occupied in exercis- 
ing his imperial duties as Charles V. The friars of San 
Jerome at St. Domingo tried to restrain Pedrarias by ordering 
him "to resolve upon nothing by himself, but to follow the 
advice of the Cabildo of Darien; and, moreover, to send to 
Espafiola all the gold taken from Cacique Paris." 

The Governor appointed Espinosa to succeed Vasco Nunez 
on the South Sea ; but when he received positive information 
that Sosa was coming, Pedrarias determined to go to the south 
coast himself. He proposed to the Council at Antigua to re- 
move the capital over to Panama, and the proposition was 
promptly rejected, just as he hoped it would be. Pedrarias and 

^ Said the Bishop of Darien to the young emperor, as reported by Las 
Casas : "Seeing then that the land was going to destruction, and that 
the first governor [Nicuesa] was bad, and the second [Pedrarias] much 
worse, and that your Majesty had in a happy hour arrived in these 
kingdoms, I determined to come and give you intelligence of this, as 
to my Lord and King." 



Two-hundred eleven 



LAST DAYS 

his followers then set out for Panama to establish themselves 
on the South Coast, lea-ing Antigua and the less attractive 
northern side of the Isthmus to welcome the new governor. 

Before this time, Diego de Albites had raided the north coast 
from Chagre to Veragua ; returning to Antigua with gold and 
captives. The Cabildo then granted him authority to make 
settlements in Veragua, and at the old site of Nombre de Dios. 
At one time the star of Albites seemed to be in the ascendant, 
and he sought authority on the south coast as well as on the 
north. He despatched Andres Nino to Spain with two thou- 
sand castellanos to purchase for him a South Sea government ; 
but the sailor returned without the office and minus the money. 

Pedrarias, with Espinosa and his other followers, gathered 
up their valuables, and moved southward over the mountains 
with all the troops that could be mustered. For the third time 
the south coast of the Isthmus was officially taken possession 
of — the mainland on the 27th of January, 1519; and Isla Rica 
two days later. The Governor took his force, numbering about 
four hundred men, embarked in the vessels built by Balboa, 
and sailed to the Island of Taboga, where Badajoz found 
refuge in 151 5. This was convenient to Panama, about fifteen 
miles away. The fishing station had been abandoned by Her- 
nan Ponce de Leon, and nobody liked the place; yet there 
Pedrarias determined to plant himself. On the 15th of Au- 
gust, 1 5 19, Governor Pedrarias Davila, by formal act, founded 
the town of Panama; promising to defend the same for Dona 
Juana, the queen, and Don Carlos, her son. The lands ad- 
joining were partitioned among his followers, and they were 
sent out to catch Indians, so that every settler soon had from 
forty to ninety slaves, who died off rapidly, however. 

Caspar de Espinosa was more successful as a looter than as 
a lawyer, though some may claim a relationship between the 
terms. He was one of the first great hikers'' on the Isthmus, 
and could not long contain himself in the dull courts of justice. 
Ever since his first expedition to the southern coast he had 
been thinking of those baskets full of gold, retaken by Cacique 
Paris. Part had been extracted from Quema, by the gentle 
persuasion of artistic torture ; but the greater portion remained 
in the hands of Paris, causing many sleepless nights to come 
to the Alcalde Mayor. 

"These expeditions were accompanied by priests, who were ready to 
baptize the natives as soon as they acknowledged the sovereignty of the 
King of Spain and embraced Christianity. Among the clergy was 
Father Francisco de San Roman, noted for his kindness to the Indians. 
He reports seeing about 40,000 natives killed by the sword or dogs. 

Two hundred twelve 



OF ANTIGUA 

With a hundred and fifty men, Espinosa sailed westward to 
the domain of Paris, ascended the river in canoes, and sur- 
prised his village by night. This splendid chieftain had re- 
cently died, and Cutara, his son, ruled in his place. The town 
was plundered in the usual way, and the Christians were just 
about to depart, when someone suggested that it would be well 
to search about the corpse of Paris, then lying in state. 
Gracias-d-Dios! There was the long-sought gold ; to the value 
of forty thousand castellanos. Espinosa then obtained a lot 
of maize from Chief Biruquete, and went back to Panama 
very well pleased with himself. Half of the treasure was 
buried, and Pedrarias and Espinosa carried the other half 
over to Antigua. The Alcalde Mayor paid the royal tax, 
and returned to Panama; from whence he set out to explore 
the coast to the west, with Juan de Castaneda as pilot. They 
sailed one hundred and eighty leagues, entered a gulf he named 
Culebras, and came back laden with maize, and gold to the 
value of thirty-three thousand castellanos. 

Pedrarias asked the cabildo at Antigua to let him go to 
Spain to look after his interests there, but they turned down 
his application. If he wanted to go, he could give up his 
office and submit to a residencia. Returning to Panama, he 
found provisions scarce, and many suffering from fever. The 
people preferred a roving life of plunde.?, and did not want 
to settle down as citizens and become self-supporting. 

The much talked-of inter-oceanic chain of posts was not 
yet estabHshed. In 15 19, the same year Panama was started, 
Diego de Albites sailed from Darien to found a settlement 
in Veragua. About Punta Manzanillo one of his_ vessels 
sprung a leak, and he put back to the isle of Bastimentos, 
where it foundered. The Indians helped to carry his party 
over to the mainland in canoes, and he started in to build a 
town on the site of Nombre de Dios, where Nicuesa had 
located his capital. This settlement was permanent; and, 
until about 1597, Nombre de Dios remained the northern ter- 
minus of trade across the Isthmus. Thus by chance,^ there 
was established on either coast a stable settlement, directly 
opposite each other in a north and south line, and at one of 
the narrowest regions and easiest passes on the Isthmus, A 
roadway was gradually opened from sea to sea, which be- 
came the famous Camino Real, paved and bridged; and wide 
enough for two carts to pass, according to Peter Martyr. 

In May, 1520, the new governor. Lope de Sosa, with three 
hundred men, finally arrived at Antigua. Pedrarias was 
there at the time, and prepared to receive him with becom- 

Two hundred thirteen 



LAST DAYS 

ing ceremony. Sosa gave orders for the disembarkation, 
entered his cabin to dress for the occasion, was taken ill, 
and expired. Pedrarias buried him before the altar of the 
church with every outer manifestation of grief, but his wicked 
old heart was rejoicing within him. Sosa had been em- 
powered to bring about reforms in Castilla del Oro, and with 
him returned Oviedo, clothed with new offices in addition to 
those already possessed. With Sosa came also Juan Rod- 
riguez de Alarconcillo as alcalde mayor. 

Secure in his office at least for some time, Pedrarias had 
his residencia taken by Alarconcillo ; during which no charges 
were preferred. Oviedo opposed moving the capitol to 
Panama, and was told by the Governor that he could remain 
at Antigua and govern the place to suit himself. Oviedo 
presented his credentials to the Council in November, 1521, 
and started in to correct abuses with all the zeal of a re- 
former. Blasphemy and gambling were prohibited; and the 
keeping of mistresses, and trading in Indian children were 
forbidden. This was simply playing into the hands of Pedra- 
rias, as no Spanish colony could exist under such new and 
startling regulations. Among the excellent things Oviedo 
did, was to open mines, build ships, and send out peaceful 
expeditions. Out of some old iron, he made five hundred 
hatchets, which were sold to the Indians at a good figure. 
When these became dull, and their owners not knowing how 
to sharpen them, Oviedo put three large grindstones in a 
vessel, and coasted along the Isthmus, sharpening, out of 
sight, the implements which he had sold, and charging there- 
for a sum equal to the original cost. This the Indians cheer- 
fully paid; and during one voyage, seven thousand castel- 
lanos were thus secured. 

During the regime of Oveido at Antigua, cacique Bea 
slew a few Spaniards, including Martin de Burga, visitador 
to the Indians. Juan de Escaray took forty men and went 
out and punished the rebellious cacique. On July i, 1522, 
Rodrigo Perez, the clerical friend of Vasco Nunez, returned 
to Antigua, and in the same vessel came the licentiate Sancho 
de Salaya, another alcalde mayor. His first dispensation of 
justice fell upon chief Corobari, who was sentenced to be 
burnt; after which the judge proceeded to Panama. As 
Antigua became depopulated, the natives revived courage, 
and conspired to burn the town. Oviedo, in person, took 
the field with forty men, captured cacique Guaturo, and 
hanged him. During these insurrections in Darien, I have 
been able to find no further mention of cacique Cemaco, and 
judge that he must have died or emigrated from his territory. 

Two hundred fourteen 



OP ANTIGUA 

To add to his troubles, Oviedo had the misfortune to lose 
his wife and son while at Antigua. One of his official 
acts was to send the bachiller Corral to Spain in chains ; but 
the lawyer soon returned, and was appointed by^ Pedrarias 
to relieve Oviedo. When the order was read in council, 
Oviedo — who held a commission from the emperor as regidor 
perpetuo — laid aside his staff of office as president and took 
a seat among the members, saymg, "This is my place, given 
me by the emperor ; here will I henceforth serve their Majes- 
ties, as in duty bound, and here only." The people of Antigua 
then elected Oviedo to represent them in Spain. While wait- 
ing for a vessel, he brought charges against the Governor 
before Alarconcillo ; for which he suffered a dangerous wound 
at the hands of an assassin. Pedrarias then ordered his 
residencia to be taken, and even placed him in irons until 
bonds should be given. Oviedo got through his residencia 
with a fine of twenty castellanos for sending Corral to Spain. 
There was another attempt to murder him; so on the 3rd of 
July, 1523, he embarked on a vessel for Nombre de Dios, but 
bore off to Cuba, and thence to Spain. 

With the departure of Oviedo, Antigua rapidly went down ; 
until only Diego Ribero was left. In September, 1524, he and 
his entire family were killed by the Indians, and the town 
reduced to ashes. Darien returned to nature, and to the 
dominion of the few surviving natives. From that day until 
this, the white man has not been able to establish himself 
in the eastern part of the Isthmus. 

Contemporary maps do not give the location of the town of Darien or 
Antigua. Later cartographers indicate its site on the west side of the 
gulf of Uraba, within Cabo Tiburon. We find the name also written 
Dariena, Daryen, Darion, Dariem, Tarena, Tariene, etc. Oveido de- 
clares that, after the capture of Cemaco's village, the bachiller Encisco 
found that the river which flows by the settlement possessed the same 
name, so he ordered the town to be called La Guardia (The Guard). A 
little later, when Encisco was deposed, Balboa commanded that the 
place be called Santa Maria de la Antigua. 

"Todo lo que es dicho, desde el cabo de la Aguya y Sancta Marta, 
descubrio el capitan Rodrigo de Bastidas, como esta dicho en el libro 
III de la primera parte de aquesta Historia general de Indias; pero no 
vido la Cuenta ni el rio grande de Sanct Johan que en ella entja: que 
aquello despues lo descubrio el adelantado Vasco Nunez de 
Balboa, como se dira adelante en su lugar. En estas dos costas del 
golpho de Uraba fueron fundados los dos pnmeros pueblos que ovp 
de chripstianos en la Tierra-Firme : el primer el de Uraba y el segundo 
el de la Guardia, a par del rio Darien ; la qual problaqion se llamo despues 
Sancta Maria de la Antiqua, como se dira adelante. En esta provingia 
de Caribana se acaba la gente de los flecheros de la hierba, la qual 
tura desde engima de la isla de la Trenidad, y algo mas al Onente, y de 
la otra parte del golpho de Uraba, en la costa del Poniente do es la 

Two hundred fifteen 



LAST DAYS OF ANTIGUA 

Cuenta y entrada de aquel poderoso rio de Sanct Johan. Y adelante 
es la lengua que llaman de Cueva, y no usan los indios flechas ; y porque 
en este golpho de Uraba cogian desde los navies del capitan Bastidas 
agua dulge en ocho bracas, llamaron a esta ensenada Mar Dulce, de la 
qual adelante en su lugar y tiempo se diran mas particularidades, y de 
aquella provingia y lengua de Cueva, la qual, so ciertos limites, la 
mando llamar el Rey Catholico Castillo del Oro ; y alii he yo residido 
algund tiempo — tomo II. lib. XXI. cap. VI. 



Two hundred sixteen 



CHAPTER XIII 



GIL GONZALEZ DAVILA 

The First Conquistador in Nicaragua 



"But we, who sought for China's strand, 

By ocean ways untried. 
Forgot our mission when we cast 

Our anchor in a tide 
That kissed a gem too wondrous fair 
For any eastern sea to wear." 

Thomas Frost. 




NDRfiS NINO, the pilot, who had been with 
Vasco Nunez on the South Sea, got a notion 
into his head that the Spice Islands and 
oriental splendor, which all were still seek- 
ing, were not very far from the south shore 
of the Isthmus. All he needed was ships; 
so in 1 5 19, we find him back in Spain so- 
liciting the Council of the Indies for the 
vessels of Vasco Nufiez, in which to sail on 
the South Sea in search of the Moluccas. 
Nino succeeded no better for himself than 
he had for Diego de Albites, and was about 
losing hope, when he was referred to the contador of His- 
paniola, Gil Gonzalez Davila,^ then at the Court of Spain. 

Gil Gonzalez was a man of good family, considerable in- 
fluence, and stood well with the all-powerful Fonseca. He 
entered into the scheme of the famous pilot, and the rest was 
easy. Gil Gonzalez was to be captain-general of the expedi- 
tion, Nino a pardner and pilot; and Andres de Cereceda the 
contador. By royal order'' issued at Barcelona the i8th of 
June, 1 5 19, the governor of Castilla del Oro was directed 
to turn over to Gil Gonzalez the vessels built by Balboa. Lope 
de Sosa, who had not yet left Spain, promised to aid the 
enterprise in every way he could. The expedition, consisting 



^ No relation to Pedrarias Davila. 

^As showing the increase of European stock in the recently settled 
island of Jamaica, the crown agreed to furnish there 500 hogs for the 
expedition, in addition to 2,000 loads of cassava. 



Two hundred seventeen 



GIL GONZALEZ 

of two hundred men, landed at xA.cla prior to the arrival of 
Sosa at Antigua. Gil Gonzalez despatched the royal order 
to Pedrarias by the hand of Juan de Sauce, who delivered 
it in the presence of the notary, Martin Estete. 

It is interesting to witness how the villainous old hypocrite 
received the royal command. "And forthwith the said lieu- 
tenant-general," writes the notary, "took the said cedula of 
his Highness in his hands and kissed it, and placed it on his 
head, and said that he would obey it, and that he did obey 
it with the utmost reverence he could and ought, as a letter 
and commandment of his king and natural lord, whom may 
it please God our Lord to let live and reign during many and 
long years, with increase of kingdoms and seignories; and, 
as to the fulfilment thereof, that his lordship would see to 
it, and answer and provide therefor as might be conducive to 
his Highness' service." 

The foxy Pedrarias did not want to have such an influential 
man as was Gil Gonzalez in his territory, so offered many 
excuses, and finally refused to deliver the ships. Gil Gonzalez 
thought he could wait until the new governor arrived; but 
here fortune favored Pedrarias, and Sosa died before setting 
foot on the Isthmus. Even this did not discourage the per- 
sistent Gil Gonzalez, and he took apart his ships and car- 
ried them over the mountain to the Rio Balsas, just as Balboa 
had done. He put together four vessels, and like Vasco 
Nufiez again, lost them before getting out of the river. The 
party, reduced more than half in number since leaving Ada, 
then went to the Pearl Islands in canoes. 

Rendered desperate, Gil Gonzalez insisted that Pedrarias 
furnish men to help build new ships ; and in time four 
miserable vessels were ready at the Pearl Islands. After 
losing most of his men, and spending all his wealth, Gil 
Gonzalez started out on the 21st of January, 1522. After 
sailing westward a hundred leagues, he was obliged to beach 
three of his ships, on account of the worm-holes, while the 
fourth was sent back to Panama for pitch and other neces- 
sary articles. Landing his four horses, and one hundred 
men, the commander followed the coast by land, directing 
Nino to take the ships on for eighty or a hundred leagues, 
and wait for him in some safe harbor. The Christians trudged 
along for many days through mud and rain, and burning 
heat, gathering gold from the Indians, and baptizing them 
afterwards."* 

' The writer has travelled through this region, and is convinced that 
the Spaniards found the country much more populated than it now is, 
with less undergrowth and better trails. 

Two hundred eighteen 



DAVILA 

It is worth noting that Gil Gonzalez made no war, and 
was not warred upon. These Spaniards thirsted for gold, but 
without bloodshed, if possible. In time they came to what 
they called an island, where the floods descended, and they 
sought refuge in the chief's "palace," surrounded by water 
for a fortnight. The ground became so softened that the 
posts of the house slowly sank into the earth; when the 
Spaniards cut their way through the roof, and dwelt in the 
tree-tops for several days until the waters went down. After 
much tribulation, softened by frequent hauls of golden orna- 
ments, they came to a gulf, which Gil Gonzalez called San 
Vicente* Here to their great joy they found Andres Nino 
with the ships. 

The commander was sufiFering with cramps from exposure, 
and wished the pilot to lead the land party, but the men 
would not have it; so they started off as before, leaving two 
ships in the gulf in charge of the treasure. Near the head 
of the gulf, Gil Gonzalez met a cacique, whose name was 
Nicoya, who presented the white men with gold to the value 
of fourteen thousand castellanos. He permitted himself to 
be baptized, and gave up his golden idols — which the Chris- 
tians immediately cherished. Nicoya warned the white men 
of a great chieftain, fifty leagues to the northward, whose 
name was Nicaragua^ "He is wise as well as valiant, and 
your little army will quickly melt before his warrior host." 
He was reputed to have much gold, so the Spaniards thought 
they would hazard an interview with the redoubtable cacique. 

Gil Gonzalez sent messengers ahead to announce his com- 
ing, and was received by Nicaragua in a peaceful manner. 
He inquired if the bearded white men came from heaven, and 
the interpreter assured him they did. "But how," asked 
Nicaragua, "directly down, like the flight of an arrow, or 
riding a cloud, or in a circuit like a bent bow?" The chief 
wanted to know of the Deluge which had destroyed the earth, 
and whether there would be another ; or would the sky fall and 
end all? Where did the sun and moon obtain their light; and 
whence came heat, and cold, and darkness? How large were 
the stars, and who held them in the heavens and moved them 
about? What honor was due the God of the Christians, and 
why did he not make a better world ? Whither went the ever- 

* Later and stilled called Golf o de Nicoya, after the chieftain of that 
name. Perhaps the San Lucar of Hurtado, though I doubt if he got 
this far north. 

^ Also written Nicarao. A later writer, more ingenious than learned 
gives Nicarao-agua as the origin of the name for the lake, and the 
region thereabout. 

Two hundred nineteen 



GIL GONZALEZ 

lasting soul when it left the body? Did the Pope never die; 
was the King of Spain mortal; and why did the Christians so 
love gold? {vide end of chapter). 

These remarkable questions, uttered by a half -naked bar- 
barian, astounded the Spaniards, but we are assured by 
Cereceda and others present that their commander answered 
them all in a skillful and Christian manner. The priest baptized 
the cacique and his people to the number of 9,017, large and 
small, all in one day, so it was affirmed. 

Nicaragua's capital stood on a large body of water, which, 
on tasting, was found to be fresh. Gil Gonzalez rode his 
horse into the lake, and took possession ; calling it Mar Dulce, 
or fresh-water sea. The expedition had set out to find the 
Moluccas, and Gil Gonzalez was looking out for the supposed 
strait through Tierra Firme. A canoe was sent out on the 
great lake to explore it. "The pilots I had with me," writes 
the commander in his narrative of the expedition, "certify 
that it opens into the North Sea; and if so it is a great dis- 
covery, as the distance from one sea to the other" is but two 
or three leagues of very level road." 

A distant cacique, called Diriangen, heard of these celestial 
visitors, and their mysterious rites of salvation, and resolved 
to pay them a visit. In the van of his train were five hundred 
unarmed warriors, each carrying one or two live turkeys, fol- 
lowed by ten men with banners. Then came seventeen women 
nearly covered with plates of gold; after which were five 
trumpeters; and lastly, the chief men of the tribe, bearing 
on their shoulders a palanquin adorned with colored cloths 
and feathers, in which sat Diriangen. He presented his 
gold plates and two hundred golden hatchets, valued at 
eighteen thousand castellanos, to Gil Gonzalez. The latter 
asked the chief if he did not wish to become a Christian, and 
a subject of the King of Spain; to which Diriangen replied 
that he would consult with his women and priests, and re- 
turn an answer within three days. The wily barbarian then 
mounted his litter and was borne away. 

Three days later — April 17, 1522 — Diriangen suddenly ap- 
peared at the head of three thousand of his tribesmen, armed 
with flint-toothed swords, lances, and arrows, and wearing 
wadded cotton coats. There was a desperate hand to hand 
fight; when the Indians gave way, and were driven of¥ by 
the mounted commander and two other horsemen.^ After 



" Meaning from the Pacific Ocean to Lake Nicaragua. 

' Strange to say, there is no mention of dogs on this expedition. 

Tzvo hundred twenty 



DA VILA 

this evidence of hostility, the Spaniards decided to return to 
Panama. 

Having discovered the vulnerability of the bearded 
strangers, the baptized Indians suddenly apostatized, and 
harrassed the Spaniards during their march back to the ships ; 
Nicaragua's people being the most aggressive. While in this 
region, Gil Gonzalez inquired if any white men had entered 
the country from Mexico, but found that lie was the first to 
arrive in the territory about Lake Nicaragua. Gil Gonzalez 
reached the gulf of San Vicente eight days after the return 
of Nino and his party. The pilot reported that he had coasted 
three hundred and fifty leagues northwesterly, reaching possibly 
the southern limit of Cortes' conquest. He discovered a large 
bay which Gil Gonzalez called Fonseca, in honor of his friend 
the bishop of Burgos; a name which it still retains. To an 
island within this bay he gave the name of his niece, Petronila. 

The expedition returned to Panama on the 25th of June, 
1523, with gold to the value of 112,000 pesos. Gil Gonzalez 
reported that he had converted to Christianity 32,000 souls; 
so the rate per soul can easily be calculated. With a small 
and poorly equipped party, Gil Gonzalez had traversed more 
strange territory without losing a man, and brought back 
more gold, than any other captain on Tierra Firme. Old 
Pedrarias, of course, undertook to get some of that gold, and 
all the credit for the success of the enterprise which he had 
tried his best to defeat. Gil Gonzalez took his gold, left 
Panama by stealth, and escaped in a caravel lying at Nombre 
de Dios, which he had purchased for a thousand castellanos, 
just as the minions of the Governor appeared on the shore 
with a warrant for his arrest. 

Gil Gonzalez reached Espafiola in safety, where the royal 
Andiencia approved of his acts, and advised him to proceed 
at once to the eastern shore of Tierra Firme opposite his 
Freshwater Sea, and search for a passage to it from the 
North Sea, thereby avoiding collision with Pedrarias. Gil 
Gonzalez despatched his treasurer, Antonio de Cereceda, to 
Spain with a report to the king, and a map of the west coast 
of Tierra Firme from Panama to the gulf of Fonseca. He 
then paid over the king's share of the gold, and sailed from 
Santo Domingo, in the spring of 1524, to hunt for the strait 
supposed to communicate with his Mar Dulce. The equatorial 
current, here flowing northward, carried him north of the 
Desaguadero (San Juan) river, and Cape Gracias a Dios, 
where the land turns to the west. He reached the mainland 
on the north shore of Honduras, and entered a port about 

Two hundred twenty-one 



GIL GONZALEZ 

twenty leagues east of Golfo Dulce, where a storm obliged 
him to throw overboard some liorses to save his ship, from 
which it was called Puerto de Caballos.^ The wind drove 
him westward to Golfo Dulce, where he took possession and 
started the colony of San Gil de Buenavista. With the re- 
mainder of his men he coasted to the east, disembarked be- 
tween Cape Honduras and Cape Camarones, and started 
southward overland to find Lake Nicaragua. 

As he approached his Mar Dulce, Gil Gonzalez met a body 
of Spaniards commanded by Hernando de Soto, sent out by 
Cordoba, the lieutenant of Pedrarias in Nicaragua. They 
had a fight at a place called Toreba, and Gil Gonzalez finally 
overmastered Soto; securing his treasure amounting to one 
hundred and thirty thousand castellanos. Satisfied with his 
success, and not prepared to meet a superior force under 
Cordoba, Gil Gonzalez returned to Puerto Caballos. 

Ever since the subjugation of Mexico — which was accom- 
plished in 1 52 1 — Hernando Cortes had been hearing of rich 
domains to his south. In addition, he was urged by Charles V. 
to look for the strait which all were seeking. On the nth of 
January, 1522, Cortes despatched a fleet of six vessels from San 
Juan de Chalchiuhcuecan — now Vera Cruz — under command of 
Cristobal de Olid, with instructions to hunt for a strait as far 
south as Darien. Arriving at Honduras, Olid turned traitor 
to Cortes, and started in to possess the country on his own 
account. When Gil Gonzalez got back to Puerto Caballos, 
he found there the fleet from Mexico under Olid. This made 
three opposing Spanish expeditions in the region of the present 
Nicaragua and Honduras — Gil Gonzalez, the first explorer, 
with authority from the crown; Francisco Hernandez de Cor- 
doba and his captains who were trying to steal the land for 
Pedrarias ; and Cristobal de Olid, sent from Mexico by Cortes, 
who had determined to seize the land for himself.* 

At this time, Francisco de las Casas, sent by Cortes to chas- 
tise the rebel Olid, appears on the scene and takes a hand in 
the game. What joy for the Red Men to see these bearded 
White Devils fighting among themselves ! Olid finally captures 

"The present Puerto Cortes (Porto Cortez) where Hernando Cortes 
arrived a short time after, on his march from Mexico. 

° "It was a golden chain of treachery thus lengthening itself from 
the capital of the Indies through Mexico and into the wilderness of 
Central America ; Velasquez revolts from Diego Colon, Cortes from 
Velasquez, Olid from Cortes, and Briones from Olid." — Bancroft. 

"A wild scramble ensued — every man for himself and the devil take 
the hindmost." — Fiske. 

Two hundred twenty-two 



DAVILA 

Casas and Gil Gonzalez ; but is stabbed by the pair while enter- 
taining them at his table, and crawls away to an Indian hut to 
die. Casas becomes master of the situation, and Gil Gonzalez 
accompanies him through Guatemala to Mexico. When they 
arrive there, conditions had changed, and they barely escaped 
execution at the hands of the enemies of Cortes. Ultimately, 
both were sent to Spain for trial. Gil Gonzalez was wrecked 
on the island of Fayal, but reached Seville in April, 1526; 
where he was confined in the atarazana, or arsenal. Liberated 
on parole, as a knight commander of Santiago, he returned to 
his home at Avila ; where he soon died, deeply repentant of his 
sins, we are told, on the 26th day of April, 1526. 

Gomara's account of the questions addressed by Nicaragua to the 
Christians : 

"Paso grandes platicas y disputas con Gil Gonzalez y religiosos 
Nicaragua, que agudo era, y sabio en sus ritos y antigiiedades. Pre- 
gunto si tenian noticia los cristianos del gran diluvio que anego la 
tierra, hombres y animales, e si habia de haber otro; si la tierra se 
habia de trastornar 6 caer el cielo ; cuando 6 como perderian su 
claridad y curso el sol, la luna y estrellas ; que tan grandes eran ; quien 
las movia y tenia. Pregunto la causa de la escuridad de las noches y 
del frio, tachando la natura, que no hacia siempre claro. y calor, pues 
era rnejor; que honra y gracias se debian al Dios trino de cristianos, 
que hizo los cielos y sol, a quien adoraban por Dios en aquellas tierras, 
la mar, la tierra, el hombre, que senorea las aves que volan y peces que 
nadan, y todo lo al del mundo. Donde tenian de estar las almas, y 
que habian de hacer salidas del cuerpo, pues vivian tan poco, siendo 
inmortales. Pregunto asimesmo si moria el santo padre de Roma, 
vicario de Cristo, Dios de cristianos; y como Jesu, siendo Dios, es 
hombre, y su madre, virgen pariendo ; y si el emperador y rey de Cas- 
tilla, de quien tantas proezas, virtudes y poderio contaban, era mortal; 
y para que tan pocos hombres querian tanto oro como buscaban. 

Gil Gonzalez y todos los suyos estuvieron atentos y maravillados 
oyendo tales preguntas y palabras a un hombre medio desnudo, barbaro, 
y sin letras, y ciertamente fue un admirable razonamiento el de Nica- 
ragua, y nunca indio, a lo que alcanzo, hablo como el a nuestros 
espaiioles. Respondiole Gil Gonzalez como cristiano, y lo mas 
filosoficamente que supo, y satisfizole a cuanto pregunto harto bien. 
No pongo las razones, que seria fastidioso, pues cada uno que fuere 
cristiano^ las sabe y las puede considerar, y con la respuesta lo 
convertio. Nicaragua, que atentisimo estuvo al sermon y dialogo, 



Historia de las Indias, Francisco Lopez de Gomara. 



Two hundred twenty-three 



.<l^^\^^.#^ 




From Oviedo, Historia General, torn. 1. 

SLOTH — Perico Ligero. 




From Oviedo Historia General, torn. 1. 

METHOD OF TRANSPORTING HORSES. 



CHAPTER XiV 



THE SPANIARDS ON PANAMA BAY 

Pedrarias Seizes Nicaragua 



AL EMPERADOR. 

"No tuera Alcides, no famoso tanto, 
Ni durara en el mundo hoy su memoria, 
Si menos cara hubiera la victoria 
De los monstruos que aun hoy causan espanto, 

L,a. fuerte emulacion con todo cuanto 
Contrasta casi al par con vuestra gloria 
Haran al fin, Senor, que vuestra historia 
Nos dure con eterno e inmortal canto. 

El veneer tan soberbios enemigos, 
Sujetar tantos monstruos, tanta gente 
Con el valor que el cielo en vos derrama. 

a1 siglo por venir seran testigos 
Del honor que dara perpetuamente 
A Carlos Quinto Miximo la fama." 

Gutierre de Cetina. 

S WE have seen, Panama^ was founded on the 
15th of August, 15 19, by Pedrarias Davila. 
The new settlement on the south coast of the 
Isthmus rapidly absorbed the residents of 
Santa Maria la Antigua del Darien, and at- 
tracted new-comers arriving at Ada or Nombre 
de Dies. By royal decree issued at Burgos, 
September 15th, 1521, Panama was created a 
city, receiving the title "Nueva Ciudad de 
Panama." Its coat of arms was a shield on 
golden field divided ; on the right was a yoke, 
the device of the Catholic kings ; below which 
was a handful of gray arrows, with blue points and silver 
feathers. On the left two caravels; over which shines the 
north star, significant of discovery and commerce. Around the 
field was a border of castles and lions ; the whole surmounted 
by a golden crown. 




* The city we now speak of as Old Panama. 

"Panama was founded in the year 1519, on the day of Nuestra Seiiora 
de Agosto, and at the end of that year a captain named Diego Alvites 
founded Nombre de Dios, by order of Pedrarias." * * * 

"The governor divided the land amongst the four hundred citizens 
who then settled in Panama, leaving a certain portion of the province 
of Cueva for the citizens of Ada. But as the captains, who had made 



Two hundred twenty-five 



THB SPANIARDS ON 

Among the special privileges granted the new city, was that 
for the first ten years it had to pay only a tenth on gold ; the 
eleventh year, one ninth ; the twelfth, one eighth ; and so on to 
the fifteenth year, when the usual fifth would be collected. 
Later on, by decree dated from Lisbon, December 3rd, 1581, 
Panama received the honors and titles of "muy Noble y muy 
Leal" (very Noble and very Faithful) ; and her regidores en- 
joyed the title of veinticuatros, as in Seville and Cordova. 

The first regidores, or aldermen, of Panama, were Gonzalo 
de Badajoz, Rodrigo Enriquez de Colmenares, Rogel de Loris, 
Pascual de Andagoya, Martin Estete, Benito Hurtado, Luis de 
la Rocha, and Francisco Gonzalez. The new alcalde mayor, 
Hernando de Salaya, was made lieutenant of Pedrarias in 
Panama. Alonso de la Puente, the treasurer ; Diego Marquez, 
the contador; and Miguel Juan de Ribas, the factor, still re- 
tained office. Fray Vicente de Peraza, the successor of bishop 
Quevedo, was still at Antigua in 1524. Pedrarias used his 
blandishments on the bishop, and induced him to transfer the 
episcopal see over to the new city. Peraza had not been long 
in Panama before he and Pedrarias quarreled at cards, during 
which the bishop told the governor what he thought of him; 
and soon after the bishop died. Then the vicious old wretch 
had words with Salaya, the alcalde mayor, and threatened to 
chop off his head. "More than one head you have wrongfully 
cut off," retorted Salaya, "but he who cuts off my head must 
have a better head than mine ; and that you have not." Then 
the governor got friendly again, and Salaya suddenly died. 
Everybody believed that Pedrarias had poisoned these men, 
but no charges were ever preferred against him. 

In 1522, Pascual de Andagoya was appointed Inspector- 
General of the Indians, and went to explore the country east 
of the gulf of San Miguel, called Chochama; where the natives 

many incursions into the country from Darien, had carried off great 
numbers of Indians, and as the land was of small extent from one sea 
to the other, there were very few Indians at the time that the land was 
divided, and the governor could give only ninety Indians in reparti- 
miento, or fifty or forty. And as each cacique had to give nearly all 
his Indians, who were required to till the ground and build houses, 
and as those that remained were taken off to the mines, where they died, 
in a short time neither chiefs nor Indians were to be found in all the 
land." — Pascual de Andagoya, trans, by Clements R. Markham. 

Bancroft states that : "The boundaries of the munincipality extended 
about forty-five leagues in every direction from the three leagues of city 
lands in the centre." 

Herrera says that Panama was much disliked by the settlers, on 
account of its unhealthy situation, and that 40,000 men were computed 
to have died there of disease within the first twenty-eight years after 
the founding of the city. 

Two hundred twenty-six 



PANAMA BAY 

were raided during the periods of the full moon by some fierce 
tribesmen, who drove them from their fisheries and slew many 
of their number. 

This warlike people came from a province called Biru, which 
name was corrupted by the Spaniards into Piru, and finally into 
the Peru of Francisco Pizarro. Chief Chochama begged Anda- 
goya to protect him ; and together they set out to chastise the 
warriors of Biru. Ascending a large river for twenty leagues, 
the allied forces came upon the enemy in a sort of native fort- 
ress. The people of Biru defended themselves with great 
bravery, but could not withstand the superior skill of the 
Christians, and were forced to come to terms. While in this 
region, the Spaniards received further information concerning 
the great empire of the Incas to the southward. Returning 
to his ships, the commander continued down the coast, explor- 
ing the shore in canoes. One day his canoe was overturned in 
the surf, and Andagoya was saved only by the brave efforts 
of one of the natives whom he had befriended. A rheumatic 
fever^ followed this exposure, and caused him to abandon the 
exploration. Andagoya turned back to Panama, where he 
arrived in safety with a few captives. 

Juan Basuto was then authorized to continue the discovery 
of Andagoya, but his sudden death checked further prepara- 
tions. Despite the glowing reports brought back by Andagoya 
confirming the existence of a rich nation to the south, there 
was no other expedition in that direction until the sailing of 
Pizarro. 

The attention of Pedrarias was directed to the west and north 
of Panama, rather than to the east and south. In the sierra 
of Veragua, on the south coast, dwelt a powerful cacique named 
Urracd. He was reported to have much gold; so Espinosa by 
sea, and Pizarro by land, started out after the mountain chief- 
tain. Urraca sent his women, children, and infirm to a place of 
safety, and fiercely attacked the Spaniards with his fighting 
men. The licentiate was getting the worst of it, when Her- 
nando de Soto came up with thirty of Pizarro's men and saved 
the Spaniards. When the latter retreated, the Indians fell upon 
them in the defiles of the mountains, and it was only by the 
most desperate efforts that the white men got back to the ships. 

' Andagoya writes that it was fully three years before he was again 
able to ride on horseback. Indeed, Montesinos affirms that the illness 
of Andagoya arose not from getting wet in the sea, but from a fall 
from his horse, while showing oflf his horsemanship to the wondering 
eyes of the Indians. 

Two hundred twenty-seven 



THB SPANIARDS ON 

Espinosa wished to found a colony at Natd," the most at- 
tractive place yet visited on the Isthmus. He left at Nata 
fifty men under Compaiion, and returned to Panama. Urraca 
threatens Compafion by night and kills one of his men, but is 
scared off by a single Spanish soldier. Runners are despatched 
for aid, and Hernando Ponce de Leon and the governor him- 
self appear with reinforcements. They go out after Urraca 
and fight for five days, but are forced to come back to Nata, 
leaving the cacique unbeaten. Pedrarias divides the lands and 
captive Indians among such of his soldiers as elect to settle at 
Nata, and sixty choose to remain and start a pueblo. Diego de 
Albites is left as the governor's lieutenant, and finally makes 
peace with Urraca; which displeases Pedrarias, who appoints 
Francisco Companon to govern Nata. 

Chiriqui was the name of a province west of Veragua, and 
Benito Hurtado was sent there to found a settlement. The 
country was thinly populated, and the two principal chiefs, 
Vareclas and Burica, submitted without resistance. For two 
years the colony remained unmolested ; but the Spaniards be- 
came unbearable, and the Indians rose in revolt. Urraca 
again took up arms, but was induced to visit Nata under solemn 
assurance of safety. When in their power, the Spaniards put 
the chief in irons, and sent him to Nombre de Dios, with the 
intention of shipping him to Spain. Luckily, the brave cacique 
burst his bonds, and returned to his home to wage a relentless 
warfare against the white invaders. Like his prototype, the 
Quibian, on the north coast of Veragua, Urraca escaped the 
vengeance of the Christians, and died among his own people. 

When Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, inspector and 
historian, fled from Antigua in 1523, he first went to Cuba, 
where he was entertained by the governor, Diego Velasquez. 
Later, Oviedo went to Espafiola, and was invited by Diego 
Colon to take passage with him for Seville ; where he arrived in 
November, 1523. As delegate for the city of Antigua, he en- 
tered complaints against Pedrarias, and urged the appointment 
of a new governor. He was opposed by the wife of Pedrarias, 
and the bachiller Corral; both in Spain at the time. They 
involved him in litigation for two years ; but the veedor suc- 
ceeded in displacing Pedrarias, and in securing the appointment 
of Pedro de los Rios, of Cordova, as governor of Castilla del 
Oro, and of the licenciado Juan de Salmeron as alcalde mayor 
and judge of residencia. 

' Oviedo considered Nata the best of the Spanish settlements. He 
describes the town as being "two leagues from the sea up a river." 

Two hundred twenty-eight 



PANAMA BA Y 

As Pedrarias retired from Antigua, and settled himself on 
the South Sea when Lope de Sosa was appointed to relieve 
him, so now he opened up a line of retreat to Nicaragua, by- 
taking advantage of the recent discovery by Gil Gonzalez. His 
first step was to despatch thither as his lieutenant, Francisco 
Hernandez de Cordoba, with Gabriel de Rojas, Francisco 
Compahon, and Hernando de Sota as captains ; who sailed from 
Panama in 1524. Cordoba founded a settlement at Urutina on 
the eastern shore of the gulf of Nicoya, which he called 
Bruselas; dismantled by order of Diego Lopez Salcedo in 1527. 
Then he marched to the Mar Dulce, and at Nequecheri, on the 
shore of the lake, he started the city of Granada. To the north- 
west, in the province of Nagrando, Cordoba founded another 
city which he called Leon. One of the brigantines was taken 
apart, carried overland, and rebuilt on Lake Nicaragua. The 
Freshwater Sea was explored and found to have an outlet in 
the Rio San Juan, which, on account of the rocks and rapids, 
was not navigated. One day Cordoba heard of a strange body 
of white men marching down from the north, and sent out 
Soto to investigate, who came in conflict with Gil Gonzalez 
Davila, as we have already related. 

Soon after Cordoba settled in Nicaragua,* encouraged by the 
Audiencia at St. Domingo, he planned to throw off allegiance 
to Pedrarias ; and called on the citizens of Leon ^ and Granada ' 
to petition the king for his appointment as independent gover- 
nor. This was opposed by Soto and Compafion, who each 
thought himself as deserving of that office as Cordoba. Her- 
nando de Soto was imprisoned in the fortress of Granada, but 
Compahon, with a few adherents, liberated his companion, and 
together they took the field against Cordoba. The latter was 
too nice a man, and too squeamish about chopping off heads to 
be a successful rebel, and allowed Soto to escape to the south. 

* "This land was very populous and fertile, yielding supplies of maize, 
and many fowls of the country, and certain small dogs which they also 
eat, and many deer and fish. It is a very salubrious land. The Indians 
were very civilized in their way of life, like those of Mexico, for they 
were a people who had come from that country, and they had nearly 
the same language." Andagoya further tells us that they had many 
beautiful women, and that both sexes wore clothes made of cotton. 
There was very little gold in the land, and the Indians traded in the 
markets with cacao, as in New Spain. Wives made their husbands 
attend on them, and perform household labor, and even raised their 
hands against them, and turned them out of doors. 

In later years, the Spaniards called the region about Granada and 
Leon, Mahomet's Paradise. 

" In 1610, Leon was removed from its location on Lake Managua to 

Two hundred twenty-nine 



THB SPANIARDS ON 

In the meantime Cortes had made his famous march down 
from Mexico, and had estabHshed himself at Trujillo, on the 
north coast of Honduras. He was pondering about seizing the 
country to the southward, when Cordoba, in dilemma, offered 
to Cortes the province of Nicaragua on condition that he should 
remain in command as his lieutenant. Unfortunately for 
Cordoba and the natives, affairs in Mexico required the imme- 
diate return of Cortes, who sailed from Trujillo on the 25th of 
April, 1526; leaving Saavedra behind in command. 

Hernando de Soto with ten faithful followers started south- 
ward to Panama. The horses became an encumbrance in 
crossing the mountains and penetrating the jungles, and were 
abandoned. Footsore, ragged, and weary, the little band of 
Spaniards arrived at the town of Fonseca, in Chiriqui, lately 
founded by Benito Hurtado, who relieved their wants and 
provided Soto with a canoe in which to continue his journey 
toward Panama. He reached Nata in safety, and sent to the 
governor a report of the revolt of Cordoba. Hoping to gain 
favor with Pedrarias, Hurtado started toward Nicaragua with 
all his able-bodied men, to bring Cordoba and his rebels to 
terms. The infirm white men left at Fonseca, after waiting in 
vain for the return of Hurtado, abandoned the post, and set out 
toward the gulf of Nicoya in search of their commander. 

When Pedrarias heard of the defection of Cordoba, other 
factors, also, determined his departure for Nicaragua. He had 
heard of the encroachments of Hernando Cortes on the north, 
and knew that Pedro de los Rios would soon relieve him on the 
Isthmus. Most of the men of Panama and Nata had gone off 
with Pizarro and Almagro to Peru, and Pedrarias had to draw 
on Ada and Nombre de Dios in order to raise a force to cope 
with Cordoba. A large number of Indians were taken along, 
and in January, 1526, Pedrarias sailed from Panama. Perhaps 
Cordoba relied too much on the interference of Cortes, and the 
support of the Audiencia. He tamely submitted to old Pe- 
drarias, who promptly cut off his head. 

the site of a large Indian town, called Sutiaba, in the midst of the 
vast plain intervening between Lake Managua and the Pacific Ocean. 

*E. G. Squier, in his Central America, states that Cordova founded 
Granada "on the site of the aboriginal town of Saltaba or Jaltava, about 
half a mile distant from Lake Nicaragua, on a little bay which there 
bends its crescent into the land so as to afford a comparative shelter 
from the constant and often severe northeast winds." 

When Thomas Gage, the English friar, visited Granada, in 1636 
"there entered the city, in a single day, not less than 1,800 mules from 
San Salvador and Honduras alone, laden with Indigo, cochineal and 
hides. Two days after, there came in 900 more mules, one-third of 
which were laden with silver, being the king's tribute." 

Two hundred thirty 



PANAMA BAY 

The reader must remember that, so far, the eastern shore of 
Nicaragua had not been explored; and the mouth of the San 
Juan river, and its relation and proximity to Lake Nicaragua 
were yet unknown. The routes to Granada and Leon were by 
way of Panama, or down through Honduras from its north 
coast. 

Cautiously, Pedrarias set about to control Honduras, and 
gain the shorter route to the Caribbean Sea. Saavedra, left 
behind by Cortes to hold the land, was no match in cunning or 
audacity for Pedrarias. The latter sent Captains Rojas and 
Hurtado to occupy the Olancho valley, where Rojas had been 
before, and ordered out by Cortes. They had a fight with a 
force from Trujillo, and lost two men. The Indians took ad- 
vantage of these broils, and drove both parties out of that 
region. Among the slain were Benito Hurtado, who had 
fought so many battles on the Isthmus ; and Juan de Grijalva, 
who discovered the southern shores of Mexico. 

The fleet of Pedro de los Rios, the new governor of Castilla 
del Oro, arrived at Nombre de Dios July 30, 1526. In his suite 
were Juan de Salmeron, alcalde mayor ; the bachiller Diego de 
Corral; Gutierrez de los Rios, a nephew; and Egas, a half- 
brother of the governor. For the third time Oviedo, maker of 
governors, comes to the Isthmus ; bearing this time still another 
oflice, that of captain-general and governor of the province of 
Cartagena. The next day the new officials were sworn in, and 
within a month had taken up their residence at Panama. Rios 
seized the property of Pedrarias to hold during his residencia. 

When the old governor heard of this, he filled a vessel with 
Indians, to be sold at auction in Panama, and hastened back 
from Nicaragua. The wily old man had carried many of his 
enemies to Nicaragua, and left them there. Accusations and 
claims were brought against Pedrarias, but so well had he fore- 
stalled action that he was acquitted, and his property restored. 
Among the accusers was Oviedo, who escapes from another 
attempt at assassination. The old governor had yet another 
stroke of good fortune, as Gil Gonzalez Davila, the rightful 
claimant to Nicaragua, died ; and Pedrarias was appointed gov- 
ernor of that province. 

Over in Spain, the king, with or without the advice of the 
Council of the Indies, changed boundaries in the New World, 
made and unmade governors, and dispensed offices to royal 
favorites; often in ignorance of the facts, and sometimes re- 
gardless of the rights and wishes of his loyal subjects, who 
were undergoing such cruel hardships in America. 

Two hundred thirty-one 



THH SPANIARDS ON 

To check the warring factions in Honduras and Nicaragua, 
the emperor, Charles V., forbade any Spaniard to draw his 
sword against another; and in 1525, appointed Diego Lopez 
de Salcedo governor of Honduras. Salcedo ousted Saavedra 
at Trujillo; and as the limits of his province were ill-defined, he 
departed with nearly a hundred and fifty horsemen towards 
Lake Nicaragua. The Indians were hostile, and the Panama 
settlers at Leon were rather glad to receive him. Salcedo was 
sworn in as governor on the 7th of May, 1527. Pedro de los 
Rios came up from Panama and claimed Nicaragua as a part 
of Castilla del Oro; but the people would not have him, and 
Salcedo ordered Rios to leave the province within three days, 
under a penalty of ten thousand pesos. 

Salcedo managed to make himself very unpopular, and when 
the people heard that Pedrarias was appointed governor, they 
locked him up. Old Pedrarias arrived at Leon in March, 1528, 
and amply rewarded Martin Estete and others who had been 
true to him. Salcedo was held a prisoner until Christmas eve, 
1528; during which time Pedrarias gobbled up all the lands 
to the north that he wanted. It was a case of dog eat dog, and 
the stronger got the bone. Much broken in health and spirit, 
Salcedo retired to his own abbreviated province. 

One of the last acts of Salcedo in Nicaragua was to order 
Gabriel de Rojas to explore the San Juan river, and to found 
there a settlement. Pedrarias, always quick to profit from the 
wise measures of others, increased this expedition to more than 
one hundred and fifty men ; placing Martin Estete in chief com- 
mand. A settlement was started at the outlet of the lake, called 
Nueva Jaen, soon abandoned, however. After passing down 
the river, the expedition followed the seacoast northward, fight- 
ing and enslaving the natives. Many were branded and sent as 
slaves to Pedrarias in Leon ; others were chained together and 
used as carriers. When an Indian fell f rom^ exhaustion, to save 
time, the Spaniards cut ofif his head, so as to release the body. 
Mines were found near Cape Gracias a Dios, where Rojas was 
left in command of a colony, while Estete returned to Leon. 

On the Isthmus of Panama, as on Hispaniola, the natives 
disappeared rapidly under the Christianizing regime of the 
white men; so Pedrarias carried on a brisk trade in Indians, 
who were sold in the slave-market he had established at Pan- 
ama. At this time. Ponce de Leon, and Hernando de Soto, 
were among those who took ship-loads of slaves to Panama. 
When Gil Gonzalez first entered Nicaragua, that region, like 
most of the New World, was well populated ; the city of Man- 
agua alone containing about forty thousand souls. Here, as 
elsewhere, the Indians melted away under the harsh rule of 

Two hundred thirty two 



PANAMA B A Y 

the conquerors. So broken in spirit and hopeless became the 
natives that the women, Hke those of Hispaniola, formed the 
noble resolve not to perpetuate a race foredoomed to servitude 
or untimely death. Among the diversions of the octogenarian 
Pedrarias at Leon were the gladiatorial contests between In- 
dians and dogs. At first young and inexperienced dogs were 
set upon the captives, which they could drive off with sticks, 
leading the poor Indians to hope their lives might be spared. 
When this part of the sport grew tame, several fierce old dogs' 
were introduced into the arena, which pulled down the Indians 
and devoured their flesh. 

Pedrarias despatched Estete and Rojas to the northwest, in 
the region we know as Salvador, already over-run by Alvarado, 
the lieutenant of Cortes. A settlement was attempted, when 
Jorge de Alvarado ran them out, half of the intruders deserting 
to his standard. 

The last days of Pedrarias were saddened by the knowledge 
that he had permitted the rich prize of Peru to slip through 
his fingers. The fourth interest which had been given Ped- 
rarias for his favor, the governor relinquished for the paltry 
consideration of a thousand pesos. Another opportunity to get 
in the game presented itself when Nicolas de Ribera came to 
Nicaragua seeking recruits for Peru, particularly Hernando de 
Soto,' Hernan Ponce, and Francisco Companon; all able cap- 
tains, with vessels available for the voyage. The old governor 
sent an alguacil to seize Ribera's vessel, but he received timely 
warning and sailed away. 

In the midst of charges of peculation and abuse of authority, 
Pedrarias died on the 6th of March, 1531, nearly ninety years 
of age. He was buried in the church at Leon, near the remains 
of his victim, Hernandez de Cordoba. Pedrarias was the most 
cruel and infamous ruler Spain ever sent to the Indies. One 
writer, Oviedo," states that from 15 14, when Pedrarias arrived 
in Tierra-Firme, until he died, he had sent two million Indians 
on the journey of death. 

' Soto went to Peru with about 100 men, and was one of the few 
Spaniards who condemned the execution of Inca Atahualpa. 

* "Ni han tenido mas largas jornadas que caminar dos milliones de 
indios que desde el ano de mill e quinientos y catorge que llego Pe- 
drarias a la Tierra-Firme hasta quel murio." 

Hist. Gen. y Nat., lib. 29, cap. 34. 



Two hundred thirty-three 



THE SPANIARDS ON PANAMA BAY 

"Carta a S. M. del Licenciado Castaneda, juez de residencia, sobre 
la muerte del gobernador Pedrarias Davila; y sus consecuencias en la 
Gobernacion de Nicaragua. Mayo 30 de 1531." 

"SACRA CESAREA CATHOLICA MAGESTAD 

Despues que a Vuestra Magestad escrebi la muerte del Thesorero 
Tobilla, Thesorero que fue de Vuestra Magestad en esta Provincia, ha 
sucedido quel Governador Pedro Arias, Gobernador que era de 
Vuestra Magestad, fallecio desta presente vida a seis de Marzo pasado : 
su muerte fue de vexes a pasiones y enfermedades que tenia; en- 
terrose en el Monesterio de Nuestra Senora de la Merced desta Cibdad 
de Leon; e de mas de ser Caballero por ser Teniente e Governador, 
por Vuestra Magestad, en estas partes fize hacer su entierro con toda 
la mas honrra e abtoridad que ser pudo, porque fize venir al entierro, 
de mas de los clerigos que aqui se hallaron, los friles de los Monesterios 
de San Francisco e Santo Domingo e Nuestra Senora de la Merced 
desta Cibdad, le Uevamos en los hombros, e fize que Uevasen delante 
de las cruces las banderas todas que tuvo quando a estas partes vino 
por Teniente de Vuestra Magestad, e se las fize poner encima de la 
capilla mayor a do se enterro ; por manera que se complio con su 
honrra como convernia a criado e Teniente de Vuestra Magestad." 



Two hundred thirty-four 



CHAPTER XV 



THE QUEST FOR PERU 

Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque 

"I<et nobler bards in loftier numbers tell 
How Cortez conquered, Montezuma fell; 
How fierce Pizarro's ruffian arm o'erthrew 
The sun's resplendent empire in Peru; 
How, like a prophet, old I^as Casas stood, 
And raised his voice against a sea of blood, 
Whose chUling waves recoiled while he foretold 
His country's ruin by avenging gold. 
That gold, for which unpitied Indians fell. 
That gold, at once the snare and scourge of hell, 
Thencetorth by righteous Heaven was doom'd to shed 
Unmingled curses on the spoiler's head; 
For gold the Spaniard cast his soul away, 
His gold and he were every nation's prey." 

James Montgomery. 

HE OVERTHROW and despoliation of the 
Incan empire was accomplished from Pan- 
ama. Peru, containing the greatest wealth, 
and presenting the highest culture found in 
the New World, fell to the lot of one of the 
lowliest and rudest of conquerors. The prize, 
by right, should have gone to Vasco Nufiez 
de Balboa, who, had he been a baser man, 
would have sailed away from old Pedrarias, 
and have discovered, at least, the wonderful 
nation in the south of which Panciaco and 
Tumaco had spoken. As we shall see later, the time was not 
yet ripe to tilt to destruction the evenly balanced factions 
among the lords of Peru. 

Francisco Pizarro^ was born a foundling, about 1471, at 
Trujillo, in Estramadura; and laid by his mother on the steps 
of the parish church, where he was picked up by a swineherd." 
He grew up amid the coarsest surroundings, fled to Seville, and 

^ His mother was Francisca Gonzales, of humble station ; his 
father was Gonzalo Pizarro, a colonel of infantry, reputed to be 
related to the mother of Hernando Cortes, who was a Pizarro. 
Francisco served with his father in the Italian war, and, in 1509, 
appears with Ojeda at San Sebastian. 

^ It is sometimes stated that little Francisco was suckled by a 
sow. 

Two hundred thirty-five 




THE Q UBST 

sailed for Hispaniola. At Santo Domingo, Pizarro enlisted 
under Alonso de Ojeda, and arrived in Tierra Firme the last 
of the year 1509. He was left in command of the settlement at 
San Sebastian; and when they moved across the gulf of 
Uraba into Castilla del Oro, Pizarro served faithfully as a 
captain, first under Vasco Nunez, and then under Governor 
Pedrarias. When the latter laid out the municipality of Pan- 
ama, Francisco Pizarro received his share of land and a 
rcpartimiento of Indians to work it. Though he had arrived 
at middle age, and seen plenty of hard service, Pizarro had no 
desire to settle down to the dull life of a planter. Francisco 
Pizarro was by nature a robber and soldier. The unknown re- 
gion to the south, rumored to possess gold and jewels in abund- 
ance, yet remained to be discovered, and awaited a conqueror 
strong enough to seize and to hold it. What Cortes had done 
in the north, Pizarro might do in the south. The recent voyage 
of Andagoya went no farther than Puerto de Finos, where 
Balboa had been before him. but his report confirmed the 
former stories of greater wealth to the southward. 

Pizarro determined on an expedition beyond the region then 
known as Biru, and went to Father Luque^ to obtain the 
necessary funds. Fernando de Luque had been school-master 
(maestrescuela) of the church at Antigua, and was then 
acting vicar of Panama. He had saved some money, amounting 
to twenty thousand castellanos, and entered heartily into the 
project. Diego de Almagro, another soldier of fortune, a few 
years older than Pizarro, and likewise of illegitimate birth, 
joined in the enterprise; and Pedrarias, the governor, grac- 
iously permitted these three men to risk their lives and fortunes 
provided he received one-fourth of the plunder. Pizarro was 
to command the expedition, Almagro to fit out and have charge 
of the vessels, while Father Luque would raise the money and 
look after the governor. 

On the 14th of November, 1524, Pizarro sailed* from 
Panama with about a hundred men, and four horses; leaving 
Almagro behind to equip and follow in another vessel. Pizarro 
stopped at Taboga ; then to the Pearl Islands, and to the river 
of Biru on the mainland. Finding there no provisions, he put 
to sea again, and ran into a ten days' storm. In a port called 
Piierto del Hambre, Pizarro landed most of his party, and sent 
Gil de Montenegro in the ship back to the Pearl Islands, for 
supplies. When these arrived, he continued south-eastward 

' Soon called Padre Loco for entering into this foolish undertaking. 
Father Luque owned the revenues of the island of Taboga. 
* In one of the vessels built by Balboa. 

Two hundred thirty-six 



FOR PBRU 

along the coast, making landings, and securing both food and 
gold." The ship requiring repairs, and fearing to carry his 
force back to Panama, lest they should disperse, Pizarro landed 
with most of his men at Chicama, and dispatched Nicolas de 
Ribera with the vessel and plunder to Panama. 

Three months after the departure of Pizarro from Panama, 
Diego de Almagro followed with a party of seventy men. He 
searched the coast for his pardner, and had a fight with the 
natives, losing an eye in the encounter. He continued on down 
the coast as far as the San Juan river, about four degrees north 
of the equator, where the houses and cultivated lands indicated 
a higher culture-stage than any region yet visited by them. 
Finding no trace of Pizarro, Almagro turned back, and at the 
Pearl Islands was directed to his retreat. Leaving most of his 
men with Pizarro, Almagro returned to Panama to aid Luque 
and Ribera in obtaining more supplies. 

Pedrarias was now following the golden lead in Nicaragua 
and grumbled over the loss of men and funds in the southern 
expedition. Though he had invested nothing,^ Almagro was 
glad to get rid of Pedrarias by paying him one thousand pesos 
de oroJ Pizarro came back to Panama about this time, and it 
is evident that the three remaining confederates now felt con- 
vinced that great wealth and opportunity awaited them in the 
kingdom^ and land of Peru. 

On the loth of March, 1526, Don Fernando de Luque, Cap- 
tain Francisco Pizarro, and Diego de Almagro signed that 
memorable contract for the subjugation and equal partition of 
Peru. Besides being an agreement between three parties, it is 
a contract between Luque, party of the first part, and Pizarro 
and Almagro, parties of the second part. This is explained 
when we learn later that Luque was only the agent of the 

' Herrera says that the natives drew near the white men and in- 
quired, "Why they did not stay at home, and till their own lands, 
instead of roaming about to rob others who had never harmed 
them?" At another place, according to the same authority, the 
Christians found human hands and feet in the cooking pots, from 
which they judged that the natives were Caribs and used poisoned 
arrows, and retreated precipitately to their vessel. 

° Pedrarias was charged by Almagro with having contributed only 
a she-calf to defray the expenses of the expedition. 

' Oviedo was present on this occasion and witnessed the agree- 
ment of release. His account of the transaction furnishes an inter- 
esting glimpse of affairs in the early days of Old Panama. 
Prescott's translation of this scene is given at the end of this 
chapter. 

Two hundred thirty-seven 



THB Q UBST 

Licentiate Caspar de Espinosa," who furnished the twenty thou- 
sand pesos. Pizarro and Ahnagro bind themselves in the most 
solemn and legal manner to turn over to the said Luque all the 
lands, rents, vassals, treasures, and emoluments arising from 
their grants and conquests ; and in case they engaged in any 
other enterprise, and failed to perform their part of the con- 
tract, they pledged themselves and all they possessed to return 
to Luque the said twenty thousand dollars which they had 
received. Fernando de Luque subscribed his name to the docu- 
ment, and as neither Pizarro nor Almagro could write, two of 
the three witnesses signed for them. All of which was certified 
to by Hernando del Castillo, escribano publico of the city of 
Panama. 

To make the covenant still more binding, Pizarro and Alma- 
gro traced the sign of the cross on the holy missal on which 
they made oath ; and Father Luque solemnized the occasion by 
administering the sacrament, dividing the consecrated wafer 
into three portions, each partaking of one." The by-standers, 
says an historian, were moved to tears by this solemn cere- 
monial with which these men voluntarily devoted themselves to 
a sacrifice that seemed little short of insanity. 

Made equal by this contract, the three associates prepared for 
another voyage towards Peru. So many Spaniards had perished 
from hunger and disease on the first venture that it was diffi- 
cult to enlist another body of men. Most of the survivors of 
the first party, strange to say, decided to try it again, and in 
time, about one hundred and sixty men, poorly equipped, were 
secured. Pizarro and Almagro, each in command of a vessel, 
sailed direct to the Rio San Juan, the farthest point yet dis- 

' Caspar de Espinosa was one of the ablest men who came to 
Castilla del Oro during the first years of the Conquest. Upon the 
death of Padre Luque, Espinosa, then living at Santo Domingo, re- 
turned to Panama to look after his interest in the Peruvian specula- 
tion, and probably received a share of the immense ransom 
collected for Atahualpa. Later, Espinosa led a force of 250 men 
to the aid of Francisco Pizarro, at Lima. While in Peru, he headed 
an embassy to Cuzco, the Inca capital held by Almagro, to try and 
effect a reconciliation between Almagro and Pizarro. In the midst 
of this negotiation, Espinosa suddenly died, and strange to say for 
those times, there was no imputation of poisoning. 

' "The religious tone of the instrument is not the least remarkable 
feature in it, especially when we contrast this with the relentless 
policy, pursued by the very men who were parties to it, in their 
conquest of the country." W. H. Prescott, Conquest of Peru, vol. i, 
p. 237. 

"In the name of the Prince of Peace they ratified a contract of which 
plunder and bloodshed were the objects." — Robertson — America, 
vol. iii., p. 5. 

Two hundred thirty-eight 



POR PERU 

covered. Their pilot was Bartolome Ruiz, a native of Moguer, 
in Andalusia, that little nursery of nautical enterprise, which 
furnished so many seamen for the first voyages of Columbus. 

In the Rio San Juan, Pizarro raided the Indian habitations 
and stole a lot of gold ornaments, which were despatched back 
to Panama by Almagro, to tempt more adventurers to the 
enterprise. Pizarro established himself on shore, while Ruiz, 
in the other vessel, explored the coast to the south of the 
equator, being the first European to cross the line on the 
western shore of America." At sea^ the pilot was astonished to 
observe a strange vessel under sail, which on close inspection 
proved to be a large trading raft, or balsa, made by lashing 
together with vines a number of light timbers, overlaid with a 
deck composed of reeds, and propelled by a large sail of cotton, 
supported by two masts. A rude kind of rudder and center- 
board keel enabled the native mariners to navigate their un- 
wieldly vessel. On board were found several men and women, 
whose gold and silver vessels and ornaments showed great skill 
in manufacture. What most attracted the attention of the 
Spaniards was their clothing of woolen cloth, of fine texture, 
dyed in colors, and embroidered with figures of birds, fishes 
and flowers. A pair of scales for weighing the precious metals 
was not the least interesting of the suggestive objects aboard 
the balsa. Two of the Indians came from a place called 
Tumbez, some distance to the south, where silver and gold 
were common, and where were herds of the animals from which 
came the wool. 

With several of the natives, including the two from Tumbez, 
Ruiz hurried back to Pizarro with his valuable information. 
Soon after, Almagro returned to the San Juan with provisions 
and reinforcements. When he arrived at Panama, Don Pedro 
de los Rios, the new governor, was in charge, and in his train 
was a number of adventurers, so that Almagro was able to 
bring back eighty more recruits for the Peru expedition. The 
two commanders then embarked all their force, and sailed again 
towards Peru. After stopping at Gallo Island, and San Mateo 
Bay, they came to the port of Tacamez, which was a town of 
two thousand houses. When Pizarro went ashore with a party 
of soldiers, ten thousand warriors assembled to drive him off; 
and it might have gone hard with the Spaniards but for a 
ludicrous incident which happened just as the two forces were 
about to engage in battle. One of the cavalrymen fell from his 
horse ; and when the natives saw what they believed to be one 

" Five years before, in 1521, Magellan had crossed the Equator 
from south to north, near the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This same 
year, 1526, one of Loasia's fleet, the ship Pataca, sailed from Magellan's 
Strait north to Tehuantepec. 

Two hundred thirty-nine 



THB QUEST 

animal divide in two independent parts, they were filled with 
consternation, and left a way open for the Christians to regain 
their ships. " 

The country became more populous the farther they went, 
and it was evident that their little band was unequal to the task 
of conquering this region. Some wished to abandon the under- 
taking, but Almagro would not listen to it. To return to 
Panama meant disgrace, and imprisonment for debt by their 
creditors. Pizarro did not relish another long wait on the 
fever-stricken coast, in the midst of warlike natives, and nearly 
came to blows with his associate. It was finally settled that the 
ships should go back to the small island of Gallo, land most of 
the men under Pizarro, and let Almagro again drum up recruits 
in Panama. The men complained of being left behind to die 
of hunger, with not even a consecrated spot in which to inter 
their bones. Several soldiers wrote letters to their friends 
denouncing their commanders, and begging that something 
would be done to relieve their distress ; which letters, of course, 
Almagro forgot to deliver. 

Juan de Sarabia, wiser than the rest, wrapped his letter, 
signed also by some others, in a ball of cotton, to be presented 
to the governor's wife as a product of native industry. The 
letter pictured the horrors of their situation, and besought the 
governor to send a vessel to take them from that desolate spot. 
After the departure of Almagro, Pizarro despatched the other 
vessel to Panama also, to prevent it being seized by his men. 

Juan de Sarabia's letter, with verse," was found by the gov- 
ernor's lady, and turned over to her husband. Its contents were 
confirmed by the appearance of those returning on the vessels, 
and Pedro de los Rios refused to countenance Luque and 
Almagro any further. He then sent the licentiate Tafur with 
two vessels to bring the wanderers home. By the same mes- 
senger, however, Almagro and Luque wrote to Pizarro, 

" "Al tiempo del romper los unos con los otros, uno de aquellos 
de caballo cayo del caballo abajo; y como los Indios vieron dividirse 
aquel animal en dos partes, teniendo per cierto que todo era una 
cosa, fue tanto el miedo que tubieron que volvieron las espaldas 
dando voces a los suyos, diciendo, que se habia hecho dos haciendo 
admiracion dello : lo cual no fue sin misterio ; porque a no acaecer 
esto se presume, que mataran todos los cristianos." 

Mr. Prescott, who quotes the above from the original MS-, com- 
ments as follows: "This way of accounting for the panic of the 
barbarians is certainly quite as credible as the explanation, under 
similar circumstances, afforded by the apparition of the militant 
apostle St. James, so often noticed by the historians of these wars." 
— Conquest of Peru. 

^Sarabia's hungry stomach prompted the following bit of 

Two hundred forty 



FOR PBRU 

beseeching him not to despair or abandon the enterprise, A 
ray of hope was enough for the stubborn and courageous 
commander. 

Great deeds are not necessarily performed by great souls. 
When Tafur arrived at the island of Gallo, and the miserable, 
starving wretches made a rush for the ships, Pizarro cried, 
"Stop!" With the point of his sword he traced a line in the 
sand from east to west, and pointing toward the south, he 
said : "Comrades and friends ! On that side are toil, hunger, 
nakedness, drenching storms, desertion and death; on this, 
pleasure and ease. Here is Panama with its poverty ; there lies 
Peru with its riches. Let each brave Castilian choose which he 
prefers." Thus saying, Pizarro stepped across the line; followed 
by the brave pilot Ruiz ; next by Pedro de Candia, the Cretan 
artillery ofificer, born in one of the isles of Greece ; successively 
followed by eleven others, whose names deserve to be repeated 
— Cristoval de Peralta, Domingo de Soria Luce, Nicolas de 
Ribera, Francisco de Cuellar, Alonso de Molina, Pedro Alcon, 
Garcia de Jerez, Anton de Carrion, Alonso Briceno, Martin de 
Paz, Joan de la Torre. The account by Garcilasso de la Vega 
includes sixteen names, besides Pizarro. 

That was the finest thing Francisco Pizarro ever did, though 
he himself was not fine enough to know it. Finer than strang- 
ling Atahualpa, and butchering the Peruvians; richer far than 
the rooms piled high with golden vessels ; better than his 
treachery to, and execution of his sworn copartner, Almagro; 
and more noble than the marquisate conferred on him by the 
emperor. 

Tafur sailed away to Panama ; Ruiz going with him to help 
Luque and Almagro raise further assistance for the expedition. 
For greater safety, Pizarro and his twelve adherents left at 
Gallo constructed a raft and transported themselves to another 
island to the north, named Gorgona, where they spent seven 
weary months, alternately praying and scanning the horizon for 
expected succor. Governor Rios was angry with Pizarro and 

doggerel, which he added to his letter, and which had a currency for 
years on the Isthmus: 

"Pues Senor Gobernador, 
Mirelo bien por entero 
Que alia va el recogedor, 
Y aca queda el carnicero." 

which may be rendered — 

Look out, Sir Governor, 
For the drover while he's near; 
Since he goes home to get the sheep 
For the butcher, who stays here. 

Two hundred forty-one 



THE QUBST 

his little band for their suicidal obstinacy, and inclined to let 
them remain and die on their little island; but later on, 
permitted Almagro, Ruiz, and Padre Luque (backed by 
Espinosa) to fit out a small vessel to carry them stores, but no 
recruits, with instructions to return to Panama within six 
months, or pay heavy penalties. Pizarro was mighty glad to 
see Ruiz arrive with provisions, but disappointed at receiving 
no additional men. Nevertheless, the Spaniards left the "Hell," 
as they called their island, and steered again to the south. 
Passing Cabo Pasado, the limit of the pilot's former discovery, 
they kept on to Tumbez, on the gulf of Guayaquil; back oi 
which tower the peaks of Chimborazo and Cotopaxi. 

The two Indians of Tumbez, taken from the balsa on the 
previous voyage, and who had been kindly treated for this 
purpose, were sent ashore and paved the way for hospitable 
treatment of the white strangers. Pizarro, usually the first to 
land, remained on his vessel, and ordered Alonso de Molina and 
a negro to interview the Indians. They were kindly enter- 
tained by the natives, and reported seeing a large stone fortress, 
and a temple blazing with gold and silver. This report appeared 
too good to be true; so the next day Pedro de Candia, the 
Greek cavalier, was selected to view the city. He was of 
gigantic stature, and presented himself in full polished armor, 
sword, and arquebuse. The simple natives thought indeed this 
was one of the children of the sun, and treated him as a 
heavenly guest. He more than confirmed what Molina had 
reported, and the Spaniards were wild with joy. 

Pizarro continued his discovery southward, passing the site 
of Trujillo, a city subsequently founded by himself. Every- 
where he received evidence that this was a great Indian king- 
dom, ruled by a powerful monarch, who dwelt amid golden 
splendor in his capital on the mountain plains of the interior. 
At one place, while being entertained by a lady of rank, Pizarro 
surreptitiously raised the banner of Spain. Turning back, he 
stopped at Tumbez, leaving there several of his party, includ- 
ing Alonso de Molina; and carrying to Panama two Peruvian 
youths, one of whom, named by the Spaniards Felipillo, played 
an infamous and notorious part in the conquest of his own 
people. 

Francisco Pizarro, with his little band, arrived at Panama 
late in the year 1527, and displayed his Peruvians, some llamas, 
and gold. Father Luque wept tears of joy; but the governor" 

*' "He had no desire to build up other states at the expense of his 
own; nor would he be led to throw away more lives than had 

Two hundred forty-two 



POR PBRU 

did not favor another expedition, which would depopulate 
Panama and establish another rival colony on the South Sea. 
The triumvirate, with some misgivings from Luque," resolved 
to send Pizarro to Spain, to appeal direct to the crown for aid. 
In the spring of 1528, Pizarro sailed from Nombre de Dios, 
bearing with him Pedro de Candia, and specimens of the civili- 
zation of Peru. 

Arriving at Seville, Pizarro was imprisoned by the Bachiller 
Encisco for wrongs done him in the early days at Antigua; 
but was soon released by royal command. He was well received 
by Charles V., and in the absence of the emperor, the queen, on 
the 26th of July, 1529, executed, at Toledo, the memorable 
Capitulacion, which defined the powers and privileges of 
Pizarro. He was to have the government, independent of 
Panama, of the province of Peru — or New Castile — for a dis- 
tance of two hundred leagues south from Santiago.*' Pizarro 
was commissioned Governor and Captain-General, and made 
Adelantado and Alguacil Mayor for life; and was to have a 
salary of 725,000 maravedis ; to come, as usual, from the 
receipts of his own government and without cost to the crown. 
Having secured most of the honors for himself, Pizarro was 
satisfied to have Almagro declared Commander of the fortress 
of Tumbez, and Luque made Bishop of Tumbez. Bartolome 
Ruiz received the title of piloto mayor of the South Sea ; Pedro 
de Candia was made chief of artillery ; and the brave thirteen 
who stepped across the line with Pizarro on the Isle of Gallo, 
were created hidalgos, and cavaliers of the golden spur. 

On his part, Pizarro was obliged, within six months, to raise 
and equip a force of two hundred and fifty men to invade Peru. 
Hernando Cortes," who a few years previously had completed 
the conquest of Mexico, was in Spain at this time, and gave his 
kinsman, Pizarro, timely aid, and many hints on the ungentle 

already been sacrificed to the cheap display of gold and silver toys 
and a few Indian sheep." — Herrera, Historia General, dec. 4, lib. 
3, cap. I. 

" "God grant, my children," exclaimed the ecclesiastic, "that one 
of you may not defraud the other of his blessing." Father Luque 
died too soon to become acquainted with the achievements and 
crimes of Pizarro. 
*'As they had renamed the Indian pueblo of Tenumpuela. , 
" "He was at the close of his career, as Pizarro was at the com- 
mencement of his; the conqueror of the north and of the south; 
the two men appointed by Providence to overturn the most potent 
of the Indian dynasties, and to open the golden gates by which the 
treasures of the New World were to pass into the cofTers of Spain." 
— W. H. Prescott. 

Two hundred forty-three 



THE QUEST 

art of demolishing an empire. The future conqueror of Peru 
visited his native town of Trujillo, where he enlisted the services 
of four brothers, three of them, like himself, illegitimate ;" and 
all poor, proud, and avaricious. Failing to raise the number of 
men required in the capitulation, Pizarro slipped away from 
Seville in three small vessels, and reached Tierra Firme at 
Santa Marta. While anchored here, his recruits heard such 
dreadful tales of hardships and death suffered in the recent 
voyages to Peru, that some deserted the enterprise; leading 
Pizarro to hasten on to Nombre de Dios, where the outfit 
arrived early in the year 1530. Here, Pizarro was met by 
Father Luque and Almagro, and upbraided for the perfidious 
machinations by which he had secured all the honors for him- 
self. On the solemn assurance of Pizarro to make amends, 
and through the intervention of Luque and Licentiate Espinosa, 
the breach between Almagro and Pizarro was healed — for a 
time. 

In the course of several months, the associates provided 
themselves at Panama with three vessels, and mustered a force 
of about one hundred and eighty men, and twenty-seven horses. 
On the day of St. John, the evangelist, the royal standard and 
the banners of the expedition were consecrated in the cathedral. 
Fray Juan de Vargas, one of the Dominicans selected for the 
Peruvian mission," preached a sermon ; mass was held, and the 
holy sacrament administered to every man engaging in this 
crusade against the innocent, but rich and infidel heathen. 
Leaving Diego de Almagro, as in the first instance, to follow 
with reinforcements, Pizarro sailed from Panama, early in 
January, 1531, on his third and successful expedition for the 
conquest of Peru. "In the name of God," another band of 
Christians set out to rob and kill a people who had never 
harmed them. 

The interview between Almagro and Pedrarias, in which the lat- 
ter relinquishes his share of the profits arising from the discovery 
of Peru. Translated from Oviedo, Historia General, MS., parte II, 
cap. 23. 

In February, 1527, I had some accounts to settle with Pedrarias, 
and was frequently at his house for the purpose. While there one 
day, Almagro came in and said to him, "Your Excellency is, of 
course, aware that you contracted with Francisco Pizarro, Don 
Fernando de Luque, the schoolmaster, and myself, to fit out an ex- 
pedition for the discovery of Peru. You have contributed nothing 

" Sons of the frail, but prolific, Francisca. 

" Pizarro was required to take along plenty of priests, but law- 
yers were strictly barred from the expedition. 

Two hundred forty-four 



POR PERU 

for the enterprise, while we have sunk both fortune and credit; 
for our expenses have already amounted to about fifteen thousand 
castellanos _ de oro. Pizarro and his followers are now in the 
greatest distress, and require a supply of provisions, with a rein- 
forcement of brave recruits. Unless these are promptly raised, we 
shall be wholly ruined, and our glorious enterprise, from which the 
most brilliant results have been justly anticipated, will fall to the 
ground. An exact account will be kept of our expenses, that each 
may share the profits of the discovery in proportion to the amount 
of his contribution toward the outfit. You have connected your- 
self with us in the adventure, and, from the terms of our contract, 
have no right to waste our time and involve us in ruin. But if you 
no longer wish to be a member of the partnership, pay down your 
share of_ what has already been advanced, and leave the affair to us." 
To this proposal Pedrarias replied with indignation, "One would 
really think from the lofty tone you take, that my power was at an 
end; but, if I have not been degraded from my office, you shall be 
punished for your insolence. You shall be made to answer for the 
lives of the Christians who have perished through Pizarro's ob- 
stinacy and your own. A day of reckoning will come for all these 
disturbances and murders, as you shall see, and that before you 
leave Panama." 

"I grant," returned Almagro, "that, as there is an Almighty 
Judge, before whose tribunal we must appear, it is proper that all 
should render account of the living as well as the dead. And, sir, 
I shall not shrink from doing so, when I have received an account 
from you, to be immediately sent to Pizarro, of the gratitude which 
our sovereign, the Emperor, has been pleased to express for our 
services. Pay if you wish to enjoy the fruits of this enterprise; for 
you neither sweat nor toil for them, and have not contributed even 
a third of the sum you promised when the contract was drawn up, — 
your _ whole expenditure not exceeding two or three paltry pesos. 
But if you prefer to leave the partnership at once, we will remit 
one-half of what you owe us, for our past outlays." 

Pedrarias, with a bitter smile, replied, "It would not ruin you if 
you were to give me four thousand pesos to dissolve our connec- 
tion." 

"To forward so happy an event," said Almagro, "we will release 
you from your whole debt, although it may prove our ruin; but 
we will trust our fortunes in the hand of God." 

Although Pedrarias found himself relieved from the debt in- 
curred for the outfit of the expedition, which could not be less than 
four or five thousand pesos, he was not satisfied, but asked, "What 
more will you give me?" 

Almagro, much chagrined, said, "I will give three hundred pesos, 
though I swear by God I have not so much money in the world; 
but I will borrow it to be rid of such an incubus." 
"You must give me two thousand." 
"Five hundred is the most I will offer." 
l^'You must pay me more than a thousand." 

"A thousand pesos, then," cried the captain in a rage; "I will 
give you, though I do not own them; but I will find sufficient se- 
curity for their future payment." 

Pedrarias declared himself satisfied with this arrangement, and 
a contract was accordingly drawn up, in which it was agreed 
that, on the receipt of a thousand pesos, the governor should 
abandon the partnership and give up his share in the profits of the 

Two hundred forty-five 



THU QUEST FOR PERU 

expedition. I was one of the witnesses who signed this instru- 
ment, in which Pedrarias released and assigned over all his interest 
in Peru to Almagro and his associates — by this act deserting the 
enterprise, and by his littleness of soul, forfeiting the rich treasure 
which it is well known he might have acquired from the golden empire 
of the Incas. 



Two hundred forty-six 



CHAPTER XVI 



CASTILLA DEL ORO 

1525-1550 
Rebellious Attempts to Control the Isthmus 

"Ivoudly the cracked bells, overhead. 
Of San Francisco ding, 
With Santa Ana, L,a. Merced, 

Felipe answering ; 
Banged all at once, and four times four. 
Morn, noon, and night, the more and more 
Clatter and clang with huge uproar. 
The Bella of Panama." 

— Edmund C. Stedman. 

EDRO DE LOS Rios, who came out as gov- 
ernor in 1526, was so grasping and avaricious 
that complaints were made to the Council of 
the Indies. Before the expiration of his three 
years' term of office, the licentiate Antonio de 
la Gama was sent to take his residencia. Dis- 
satisfied with the result, Rios appealed to the 
Council in Spain, Oviedo acting as attorney 
for the city of Panama. Here he fared no 
better, being fined, despoiled of office, and for- 
bidden ever to return to the Indies. The wife 
of Rios, left behind in Panama, refused to 
journey to Spain without the company of her husband, and 
ended her days in the Indies. 

Antonio de la Gama succeeded Rios in 1529, and, for those 
days, was a fair sort of governor. But he, too, caught the 
prevailing itch in his palms; and in the spring of 1534, he was 
superseded by Captain Francisco de Barrionuevo, a soldier who 
had gained some distinction at Cartagena. 

In 1533, a royal Audience (Audiencia real), was instituted 
at Panama, previous to which the courts of Castilla del Oro 
were under the jurisdiction of the Audience of Espafiola. At 
first, the Audiencia at Panama included Peru, but that country 
soon grew too big to be subject to Panama. The personnel 
of the court consisted of a president, four oidores, a fiscal, a 
relator, two secretaries ; and for local government, two alcaldes, 
and three ministers of justice. A few years previous to this. 




Two hundred forty-seven 



CASTILLA 

the prohibition on lawyers had been removed, and with the 
horde of adventurers and vagabonds now flocking to the Isth- 
mus, came an avalanche of legal counselors and advocates. 
Bribery was still in fashion, and the courts were not held in 
high repute/ "Only that an ocean lay between Charles and his 
down-trodden subjects," exclaims Vasquez, "nineteen out of 
twenty would have thrown themselves at his feet to pray for 
justice." 

Bishop Peraza, believed to have been poisoned by Pedrarias, 
was followed by Fray Martin de Be jar, a Franciscan; who was 
followed, in 1530, by Fray Tomas de Berlanga, a Dominican. 
He marked the site for the cathedral, the convent of La Merced, 
and other religious houses in Panama. He renounced the chair 
i" i537j and returned to Spain. During the voyage a storm 
arose, when the good bishop arrayed himself in his sacred vest- 
ments, and kneeled with the frightened company to chant a 
litany to the Holy Virgin. The storm abated, and on the waves 
appeared a box, which on being opened, was found to contain 
an image of the Virgin. This marvellous manifestation of her 
favor was carried to Spain by Berlanga, and placed in the con- 
vent of Medina de Rioseco. A similar fiction is related of Our 
Lady of Guadalupe, during a voyage to the Philippines from 
Mexico. 

In 1532, Pedro de Heredia, who had seen service in the 
Indies, sailed from Spain with about one hundred men to enter 
and settle the region between the Atrato and Magdalena rivers, 
which had been granted him. He anchored his three vessels in 
the port of Calamari, which he named Cartagena, because of its 
resemblance to the harbor of Cartagena in Spain. On march- 
ing inland, the Indian women fought with the men to repel the 
invaders. In spite of their poisoned arrows, the Indians were 
driven from their town, where were found provisions and gold. 
Reinforced from Espaiiola with men and horses, Heredia pene- 
trated as far as the town of Cenu (Zenu), on a river which 
still bears that name (Sinu). In two chests was found gold to 
the value of 20,000 pesos; and in a pit called by the Indians 
"El bohio del diablo" (home of the devil), the Spaniards dis- 
covered nearly as much more. This pit comprised three com- 
partments, each about two hundred and fifty feet in length, in 
one of which was a hammock containing the gold, supported by 

^ Oviedo, who had reason to know something of the law and the way 
it was administered, wrote to the emperor, — ''A magistrate is worse 
than a pestilence, for if the latter took your life it at least left your 
estate intact." 

Two hundred forty-eight 



DHL ORO 

four human figures, in which his satanic majesty was wont to 
take his siesta. In a nearby sepulchre/ sought years before by 
Encisco and others, gold-dust was unearthed to the amount of 
10,000 pesos. With such easy wealth in the neighborhood, 
Cartagena attracted adventurers and colonists, and grew 
rapidly. Later on, it became a regular stopping place for the 
Spanish galeones on their way to Nombre de Dios or Puerto 
Bello. 

Heredia sent his brother Alonso to the shore of the Gulf of 
Uraba to rebuild the settlement of San Sebastian. A new site 
was selected some leagues south of Ojeda's colony, near some 
cocoanut palms, about half a league from the shore of the gulf. 
This displeased Julian Gutierrez, who had married the sister of 
cacique Uraba, and was making a fortune trading with the 
Indians. He built a fort on the Rio Caiman, not far from San 
Sebastian, and was joined by Francisco Cesar and some mal- 
contents from Castilla del Oro. Gutierrez claimed to be acting 
under instructions from the governor of Castilla del Oro ; but 
Heredia killed most of his party, and carried Gutierrez and his 
wife to Cartagena. Cesar made his escape, and afterward took 
service under Heredia, rising to some prominence. Barrio- 
nuevo went to Cartagena from Panama, and secured the release 
of Gutierrez; concluding an agreement with Heredia to make 
the Atrato river the eastern limit of Castilla del Oro. 

In 1536, Captain Francisco Cesar led an expedition from San 
Sebastian and journeyed south for ten months, arriving at the 
Guaca valley. Here he was surrounded by an army of twenty 
thousand natives, and just about to be annihilated, when St. 
James^ appeared in the heavens, and the enemy was routed. 
Shortly afterward, the Christians found some guacas, or graves, 
wherein was treasure to the value of 30,000 castellanos ; after 
which they were able to make the return march in seventeen 
days. That same year, Pedro de Heredia started out from San 



^ The cemetery of Zenii was composed of hundreds of mounds or 
tumuH, some conical, others oblong. When a warrior was interred, 
his arms and jewelry were buried with the body, with food and chicha. 
Sometimes his wives and servants were put in the grave, they being 
first made drunk. Some beautiful figures in gold have been taken from 
this cemetery. Fray Pedro Simon says that all who robbed these tombs 
died in extreme poverty. 

* Santiago, Spain's patron saint, was kept mighty busy about this 
time, appearing first in one place and then in another, stimulating the 
Spaniards to greater slaughter of the Indians. Spanish chronicles are 
filled not only with gross exaggerations, but with preposterous tales of 
miraculous interventions by saintly and ghostly characters. 



Two hundred forty-nine 



CASTILLA 

Sebastian to find the golden temple of Dabaiba/ but after 
floundering through the swamps for several months, found 
nothing but a few huts built in the tree-tops. When accused of 
leading the Spaniards astray, the Indian guides replied: "We 
go from the river to the mountains in three days, while you and 
your horses require as many months." In 1538, Cesar led 
another force to the south. When surrounded by Nutibara 
with two tTiousand warriors, Santiago again appeared in the 
heavens — this time on a white horse — and the Indians were dis- 
persed with much carnage. Cesar got 40,000 ducats ; but the 
next time he went out he lost his life. 

In 1535, a third attempt was made to found a colony in 
Veragua on the North Sea (Caribbean). Ever since the disas- 
trous failures of Christopher Columbus, and of Diego de 
Nicuesa at Belen, no further efforts had been made to settle in 
the northwestern part of the Isthmus. It is remarkable that 
the region where the first attempts were made to settle on the 
continent of the New World, and which the old Admiral^ valued 
more than all his other discoveries, should be the last part of 
Tierra Firme to be occupied by the white man. Even today, 
nature and the few surviving natives still possess most of the 
north coast of Veragua and Chiriqui. The northwest coast of 
the Isthmus had been raided by Espinosa, and by Albites, and 
the latter sailed thence to start a town, but was driven back by a 
storm, and located on the site of Nombre de Dios. 

In 1514, the king offered Veragua to Bartolome Colon for 
colonization ; but the Adelantado was then broken in health, and 
declined. In 1526, the Admiral Diego Colon, son and heir of 
Christopher Columbus, died in Spain, and was succeeded by his 
son Luis. In 1538, being then eighteen years of age, Luis 
Colon brought suit before the tribunal of the Indies to establish 
his right to the grants, titles, and dignities inherited from his 
father and grandfather, unjustly withheld from him by the 
crown. In 1540, wearied with the interminable litigation, Luis 
abandoned all claims to the vice-royalty of the Indies in con- 



*When questioned concerning the treasui'e of Dabaiba, a friendly 
cacique answered : "There is no treasure, for they have no need_ of 
any; but when they want gold to purchase food or redeem a captive, 
they pick it up in dry weather from under the rocks in the river beds." 

"When writing of Veragua, Columbus said: "De una oso decir, 
porque hay tantos testigos, y es que yo vide en esta tierra de Veragua 
mayor serial de oro en dos dias primeros que en la Espahola en cuatro 
anos, y que las tierras de la comarca no pueden ser mas fermosas, 
ni mas labradas, ni la gente mas cobarte, y buen puerto, y fermoso rio, 
y defensible al mundo." From letter to los Reyes, Jamaica, 7th of 
July, 1503. 

Two hundred fifty 



DHL ORO 

sideration of receiving therefor the title* of duke of Veragua 
and marquis of Jamaica, and perpetual admiral of the Indies.' 

Maria de Toledo, widow of Diego Colon, usually accorded 
the title of vice-queen (vireina) of the Indies, demanded a 
license to colonize the province of Veragua; and on being 
refused, she determined to go ahead with the enterprise without 
the royal sanction. With the financial assistance of a priest 
called Juan de Sosa, she fitted out an expedition, which was 
placed tinder the command of a fine young gentleman named 
Felipe Gutierrez, son of the treasurer Alonso Gutierrez. The 
commander made Pedro de Encinasola his chief captain, and 
sailed from Santo Domingo in September, 1535, with a well- 
armed force of four hundred men. The pilot of the fleet, 
named Liano, was ignorant of the coast and wandered from 
Nombre de Dios to Honduras, looking for Veragua. Finally 
they anchored in the mouth of a large river, which some said 
was the Belen, and others a stream west of the Belen. It is 
affirmed that this was the Rio Concepcion, about two leagues 
west of the river Veragua, and four leagues west of the Belen. 

On a small island at the mouth of the river, Gutierrez landed 
his men and stores; and on the mainland adjoining he selected 
a town site, erecting a governor's house of logs for himself, 
dwellings for the men, and storehouses. As usual on this coast, 
it rained almost continuously, damaging their supplies, and 
interfering with planting. The floods came and washed away 
the houses, and drowned some of the settlers.^ The calamities 
of former colonists were repeated. Provisions became scarce, 
and the men sickened and died in the debilitating climate. 
There were no friendly Indians to welcome them as gods, and 

° "por duque de Veragua y marques de la isla de Sanctiago, alias 
Jamayca, e almirante perpetuo destas Indias." 

' Not long after, Don Luis died, leaving two daughters and an illegi- 
timate son. From this time the lineal descendants of the great admiral 
were denominated dukes of Veragua, and after passing through several 
genealogical stages, the honors and emoluments of Columbus fell to 
the Portuguese house of Braganza, a branch of which was established 
in Spain. 

* The pertinacity with which the Spaniards clung to the swamps 
fringing each shore, instead of locating among the hills within plain 
sight, is explained, I believe, by their greater security near their ships, 
and by the motive for the settlement. The Spaniards did not locate at 
first with any idea of remaining to cultivate the land and make homes, 
but simply as a camp from which to make forays and rob the natives 
of gold. The golden jewelry of the Indians was the slow accumulation 
of centuries of crude mining or distant barter; but the Spaniards acted 
as if rich mines existed everywhere, and all they had to do was to 
torture the chiefs to make them disclose their locations. 

Two hundred fifty-one 



CASTILLA 

perform all the labor in sun and rain. The four hundred 
healthy, hopeful men were soon reduced to two hundred and 
eighty weak and sickly wretches. To add to their distress, the 
settlers were poisoned by drinking from a certain spring, which 
caused the lips to swell, the gums to soften, and sometimes 
death to ensue. 

Gutierrez named his town Concepcion, "but from the suffer- 
ings of the people," says Oviedo, "better to have called it 
Afliccion." The members of this outfit seem to have had but 
little experience in the Indies. With enough men to overrun 
the country from sea to sea, they supinely waited for death; 
each hoping to outlive his companions, and make a rich haul 
of gold. But few Indians remained along the shore, and these 
they could scarcely communicate with. The clerigo, Juan 
de Sosa, went in one of the vessels as far as Nombre de Dios, 
seeking an interpreter, but found none. Expeditions were sent 
out for gold and provisions, securing but little of either. Once 
they foolishly burnt the cornfields of the Indians, from whence 
they might have obtained maize. 

On one of these forays the Christians came across a chieftain 
named Dururua, who proved himself a worthy successor of 
the Ouibian. At first, he received the Spaniards courteously 
and entertained them to the best of his ability. When they 
demanded gold, the cacique gave them all his store. Not satis- 
fied with the amount, the white men resorted to harsher 
methods to extract the gold ; and hostilities opened. A force of 
a hundred and fifty men under Alonso de Pisa and the militant 
priest, went out and brought in Dururua and some of his 
warriors. The chief promised to collect four baskets of gold, 
each containing 2,000 pesos, if they would set him free. He 
was allowed to send out messengers, who returned empty- 
handed. Dururua called them traitors, and begged to be taken 
out, bound as he was, to make his people furnish the gold. 
With a guard of thirty Spaniards, he traveled five days, arriv- 
ing at a deserted village. Dururua directed his guards to dig at 
a certain spot, where only about half an ounce of gold was 
found. Captain Encinasola then called him a dog and other 
vile epithets, in which the Spanish language abounds, and 
struck the chief in the face. Dururua was playing for his life 
and vengeance, so begged for one more trial, saying that his 
people must have removed the gold when they departed from 
the village. Blinded by his cupidity, Encinasola agreed. That 
very night six hundred Indians attacked the camp, killed eight 
Spaniards, and carried off their chief. 

The natives then disappeared from that section, carrying all 

Two hundred fifty-two 



DHL ORO 

their food supplies with them. On the way back to Concepcion 
many of the surviving Spaniards died of starvation. Some fed 
upon the bodies of dead Indians ; then they slew some captives, 
and, according to Herrera, a sick Christian was slaughtered and 
devoured. Nine emaciated wretches got back to Concepcion; 
when one of them informed the governor of their cannibalism, 
and Gutierrez tried and condemned all except the informer. 
Two who were considered the most culpable were burned to 
death, the others branded in .the face with the letter C. 

When out on another excursion the Spaniards heard of rich 
mines in a certain high hill. An Indian guided them to the 
place, and showed where to dig; whereupon a few nuggets 
were actually found. Dissatisfied with the returns, the Chris- 
tians turned fiercely upon the poor Indian, who sprang upon a 
rock which overhung a precipice, and hurled himself headlong 
into the chasm. 

At Concepcion one horror succeeded another; the putrefy- 
ing bodies lying unburied within and around the huts. Those 
convinced that death was near, dug their own graves in the 
humid soil. One Diego de Campo, a native of Toledo, when 
about to die, dragged himself to one of these holes, scooped 
out by another, and in it expired in peace. Soon the owner 
felt his end approaching, and sought his grave, to find it 
already occupied by another; but directed that his own body 
be placed therein without disturbing the corpse of his comrade. 
Rendered desperate by famine, forty men deserted, and set out 
for Nombre de Dios, most of them perishing by the way. 
Later, the Governor despatched Father Sosa and alcalde Sana- 
bria with six soldiers, four negroes, and two Indians to 
Nombre de Dios for recruits and supplies. In three days they 
reached the Belen, when being unable to cross, they followed 
up the bank of that river for eleven days before they could get 
over to the eastern side. Continuing their weary way, they 
encountered the rotting bodies of many of those who had pre- 
ceded them, and soon came upon the remnant of that party, 
now reduced to twenty-five men. Farther progress was barred 
by hostile natives, so they fortified themselves, and awaited 
whatever fate might be in store for them. 

Meanwhile, Gutierrez, hearing from no one, determined to 
abandon the settlement. He and the few remaining Spaniards 
embarked in a vessel — which it seems they possessed all the 
time — and reached Nombre de Dios in safety. Receiving some 
intimation of the whereabouts of Juan de Sosa and his 
beleagured companions, a vessel was fitted with food by the 
people of Nombre de Dios, and despatched to their relief. The 

Two hundred fifty-three 



C ASTILLA 

survivors, twenty-seven in number, were carried back to 
Nombre de Dios, and the government of Felipe Gutierrez in 
the province of Veragiia was at an end. Gutierrez crossed the 
Isthmus to Panama, and went to Peru, where Gonzalo Pizarro 
made him a governor, but subsequently chopped off his head. 
The fortune which Juan de Sosa had just lost in the Veragua 
enterprise had been obtained in Peru, so the clerigo again 
turned his face towards that land of riches. 

So far, strange to say, the Caribbean slope of the country 
now called Costa Rica had not been explored. One of the last 
acts of Pedrarias in Nicaragua was to send Martin Estete and 
Gabriel de Rojas to explore and loot the valley of the San Juan 
River, the outlet of Lake Nicaragua. This was a land party 
which went down the northern bank of the stream, and then 
turned up the coast to Cape Gracias a Dios. By going up from 
Panama, and southward from Honduras, the Pacific side of 
this region of the continent was settled before the eastern. 

When Rodrigo de Contreras — who happened to be a son-in- 
law 'of Pedrarias — came from Spain to govern Nicaragua, he 
considered opening up communication with the North Sea by 
way of El Desaguadero, as the Rio San Juan was then called, 
Bartolome de las Casas, protector of the Indians, was in Nica- 
ragua at this time, and opposed the scheme; forseeing the 
enslavem.ent and extermination of the natives of that section 
should it be occupied by the Christians. However, when Las 
Casas and his Dominicans departed from Leon, the governor 
ordered Captain Diego Machuca to proceed with the explora- 
tion. Two vessels entered the river from the lake, while a 
force of two hundred men went by land. It is not stated how 
they got through the rapids, but the vessels reached the North 
Sea, and sailed for Nombre de Dios. Doctor Robles, then 
governor of Castilla del Oro, thought to profit by this dis- 
covery, so arrested the mariners from Nicaragua, and des- 
patched ^n expedition under Francisco Gonzales de Badajoz 
to take possession of the Desaguadero and adjoining territory. 
This outfit built a fort and raided the natives, collecting gold 
to the value of 200,000 castellanos. After six months, Con- 
treras ran them out and sent their leader a prisoner back to 
Panama. Robles sent out another party under Andres Gara- 
vito, which likewise failed of success. 

In 1540, Diego Gutierrez, a citizen of Madrid, and brother 
of Felipe Gutierrez, was commissioned governor of the unex- 
plored province of Costa Rica, or Nueva Cartago as it was also 

Two hundred fifty-four 



DHL ORO 

termed. Gutierrez raised a force of two hundred men in 
Espafiola, and sailed for Jamaica, the base of supplies for the 
colonies of Tierra Firme. Here his men mutinied, causing 
the loss of his military stores. Sailing thence to Nombre de 
Dios, the governor fell desperately ill, and nearly all the com- 
mand deserted and crossed to Panama, where they shipped for 
Peru. When Gutierrez recovered, he found himself with but 
five men and almost without means. Nevertheless, he fitted 
out a small bark and sailed to the San Juan River, and managed 
to reach Granada in Nicaragua. Contreras, the governor of 
that province, declared that Nicaragua extended to the western 
border of Veragua and that there was no intervening territory 
for Gutierrez. 

After a year or two, the two governors adjusted their differ- 
.ences, and Gutierrez, with sixty men, sailed in two vessels for 
the mouth of the Rio Surre (or Sucre). Ascending that 
stream for three leagues, they came to some deserted huts and 
made camp. After meeting with some success, nearly all his 
men again deserted and went back to Nicaragua, leaving the 
governor with only six followers, one of whom was his nephew, 
Alonso de Pisa. At this time relief came in the shape of Cap- 
tain Bariento with more men and provisions. Gutierrez now 
gave Pisa all the gold he had collected, and sent him to Nombre 
de Dios to procure recruits and supplies. Alonso de Pisa 
arrived at that port early in 1545, and secured twenty-seven 
men for his uncle, one of whom was Girolamo Benzoni, a 
young Italian adventurer who wrote a chronicle of his travels 
in the New World. 

Returning with his reinforcements to Costa Rica, the brig- 
antine ran into a gale and was driven to the islands of Zaro- 
baro, where they remained seventy-two days, exposed to inces- 
sant rains. During this period the party did not see four hours 
of sunshine, and three of the number were killed by lightning. 
Pisa at last reached the camp of Gutierrez, who, in the mean- 
time, had accumulated some more golden jewelry. The ship 
was sent back for more help, and with about eighty men the 
governor set out to explore his province. It was the same old 
story repeated all over the Indies by the Spaniards during the 
Conquest. Almost incredible hardships and courage on the 
part of the Spaniards, combined with religious zeal and fanati- 
cism, and cruel and inhuman treatment of the Indians. The 
natives of this New World given to Spain by the Pope of 
Rome must give up their golden ornaments and ceremonial 
figures, and become converts to the Spanish variety of Chris- 
Two hundred fifty-five 



CASTILLA 

tianity, if every cacique encountered had to be burnt at the 
stake or given to the dogs to be torn to pieces. 

Diego Gutierrez was not nearly so bad as most of the com- 
manders. He started out with good intentions, and told the 
first caciques he met that he came to drive out their evil 
spirits ; but the Indians soon discovered that these messengers 
of the gospel were more to be dreaded than the evil spirits 
which they had come to exorcise. By July, 1545, the governor 
had crossed the divide, and was on the western slope of the 
Cordillera. Tiring of the cruelties of these white bandits, the 
Indians gathered in war paint and feathers, and killed all but 
six of the party. Gutierrez was slain, and his head, hands, and 
feet severed from the body, and borne as trophies among the 
tribesmen. 

The six survivors, — among whom was Benzoni — were saved 
by the timely arrival of Alonso de Pisa with his detachment; 
and by marching night and day the little band reached the San 
Juan River, and thence embarked for Nombre de Dios. 

In 1542, Bartolome de las Casas placed in the hands of 
Charles V. the manuscript of his celebrated treatise on the 
"Destruction of the Indies." ° That same year a royal junta, 
composed chiefly of theologians and jurists, met at Valladolid 
and devised a system of laws for the better government of the 
American provinces. Though a member of the Dominican 
order, which had established the Inquisition, Las Casas declared 
that the Indians were by the law of nature free, and that the 
white man had no right to enslave them, since "God does not 
allow evil that good may come of it." 

The junta framed a code of ordinances, which received the 
emperor's approval, and was published in Madrid in 1543, and 
became known as the New Laws. No more Indians could be 
enslaved, and masters had to show a legal title to their human 
chattels, and not hold an excessive number in captivity. The 
New Laws, as may be imagined, created a ferment of revolu- 
tion from Mexico to Peru ; and had there been harmony, in- 
stead of feud, between the Conquistadores, the American colo- 
nies would have declared their independence of Spain at that 
time, and not have waited three centuries longer. When the 
laws were read in the plazas and public places, the colonists 
received them with groans and hisses. "Is this the fruit," they 
cried, "of all our toil? Is it for this that we have poured out 

' In this connection, read "Breuissima relacion de la destruycion de 
las Indias" (1552). 

Two hundred fifty-six 



DHL ORO 

our blood like water ? Now that we are broken down by hard- 
ships and sufferings to be left at the end of our campaigns as 
poor as at the beginning ! Is this the way government rewards 
our services in winning for it an empire? The government 
has done little to aid us in making the conquest, and for what 
we have we may thank our own good swords ; and with these 
same swords," they continued, warming into menace, "we 
know how to defend it." Then, stripping up his sleeve, the 
war-worn veteran bared his arm, or, exposing his naked bosom, 
pointed to his scars, as the best title to his estates. 

Down in Peru, Diego de Almagro had been executed by 
Hernando Pizarro; Francisco Pizarro had been assassinated 
by the adherents of young Almagro, the son of an Indian 
woman of Panama ; and young Almagro, in turn, was beheaded, 
"on the very spot where his father met a like fate," by the new 
governor, Vaca de Castro. The last was just about establish- 
ing stable government in Peru, when the emperor sent out 
Vasco Nunez Vela as viceroy, to bring about order and institute 
reforms. In January, 1544, the viceroy landed at Nombre de 
Dios, attended by the judges of a new Audiencia, and a numer- 
ous retinue. Finding at that port some Spaniards, returning 
home with stores of wealth, acquired in Peru, Vasco Nunez laid 
an embargo on the treasure as being a product of slave labor. 
Arriving at Panama, the viceroy caused more than three hun- 
dred Indians brought from Peru, to be liberated and returned 
to their own country. When remonstrated with for these high- 
handed measures, Vasco Nunez coldly replied that "he had 
come not to tamper with the laws, nor to discuss their merits, 
but to execute them, — and execute them he would, to the letter, 
whatever might be the consequence." 

Arrived at Lima, the viceroy confined Vaca de Castro on a 
ship in the harbor, and by impolitic acts stirred up rebellion 
among his unruly subjects. He was deposed by the Audiencia 
which came out with him, and afterwards lost his life in battle 
with Gonzalo Pizarro,^" near Quito. Peru was again in the 
hands of a Pizarro. 

Not satisfied with becoming dictator of Peru, and receiving 
the plaudits of the people, Gonzalo Pizarro dreamed of controll- 
ing the Isthmus, and the ports of Nombre de Dios and Panama 

" Gonzalo, the ablest of the Pizarros, fell short of being great, and 
was executed by Gasca. Had he taken Carbajal's advice and married 
the Coya, the female representative of the Incas, thereby securing the 
support of the Peruvians, he could have established a dynasty indepen- 
dent of the Spanish crown. 

Two hundred fifty-seven 



CASTILLA 

■ — the line of travel to and from Peru." With this end in view, 
he sent Hernando Bachicao with six or seven hundred men, 
in about thirty vessels, to Panama, Warned by Vaca de Castro, 
who had escaped from Peru, and others, the city had raised a 
force of seven hundred men, ill-equipped and without discipline. 
The authorities at Panama sent two messengers to meet Bachi- 
cao at the Pearl Islands, and request him not to land troops in 
Tierra Firme. That commander answered that he intended 
simply to land passengers and revictual his fleet. He was 
allowed to come to the city, and almost without resistance, 
seized all the arms and ammunition in the arsenal. Bachicao 
gave Panama over to pillage, and ordered the ship-masters in 
port to join his fleet, hanging at the yard-arm those who 
refused. Pedro Gallego, a captain, was executed for refusing 
to shorten sail and cry Viva Pizarro. The city of old Panama 
suffered its first reign of terror, men being put to death on the 
merest suspicion by order of Captain Hernando Bachicao. 
When news of these outrageous procedures reached Gonzalo 
Pizarro, he immediately recalled his blundering lieutenant. 

Resolved, however, to command the Isthmus, Pizarro next 
despatched Pedro de Hinojosa, at the head of two hundred and 
fifty men, with orders to seize and hold both Panama and 
Nombre de Dios. When the expedition reached Puerto Viejo, 
Rodrigo de Carbajal was sent on ahead with letters from 
Pizarro to the prominent citizens of Panama, disclaiming 
responsibility for the misconduct of Bachicao, and informing 
them that Hinojosa was on the way with sufficient funds to 
reimburse them for all losses. Accompanied by fifteen men, 
Carbajal landed at Ancon, a small cove two leagues from 
Panama. There some planters informed him that two captains, 
Juan de Guzman and Juan de Illanes, were in the city enlisting 
recruits for the viceroy of Peru (who had not yet met defeat 
and death). Carbajal did not deem it prudent to land, but sent 
his letters secretly into the city by night. The recipients of the 
letters turned them over to the authorities, and the messenger 
was forced to disclose all he knew. The guard was increased, 
and two brigantines despatched to capture Carbajal, who, sus- 
pecting all was not well, slipped away and hid among the Pearl 
Islands, to await the arrival of his commander. 

On the voyage northward, Hinojosa stopped at Buenaven- 
tura, capturing some followers of the viceroy, Vasco Nunez 
Vela, securing some treasure from them, and liberating an 

" So far, there was no communication by way of the strait found 
by Magellan. 

Two hundred fifty-eight 



DHL ORO 

illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro, held for ransom. After 
picking up Carbajal, Hinojosa, in October, 1545, anchored in 
front of Panama with eleven ships. There was a division of 
feeling among the population as to admitting Hinojosa, the 
merchants being in favor of it, while Doctor Robles, the gover- 
nor, and other crown officials loudly disclaimed against the 
rebels. The governor's party prevailed, and the corregidor, 
Pedro de Casaos, was appointed captain-general. He took 
command of the eight hundred armed citizens, and marched 
forth to oppose the insurgents. 

Hinojosa moved his fleet to the cove of Ancon, disembark- 
ing two hundred men on a rocky projection of the shore, under 
cover of his guns, and where the Panama cavalry could not 
maneuver. He then marched toward the city, directing his 
vessels to accompany him near the shore, with guns trimmed 
for action. As the men of Peru neared the city, the ecclesiastics 
issued forth, clad in mourning covered with crosses, with sad 
countenances, and holy chants. "Is it necessary," they cried, 
"for Christians to imbue their hands in each other's blood?" 
An armistice of a day was agreed upon, and hostages 
exchanged. 

Hinojosa declared that he came not to make war but restitu- 
tion, and did not see why he was denied entry into Panama, 
if they received a wretch like Bachicao. He told them that 
Pizarro was master of Peru, and proposed to command the 
gate- way to it. If the people of Panama would not submit to 
Pizarro there would be war. It was finally agreed, before a 
notary, that Hinojosa could enter Panama with a guard of 
thirty men and remain forty-five days; sending his ships to 
Taboga or the Pearl Islands for repairs and provisions ; the 
loyal colonists from Nombre de Dios returning to their homes. 
Guarding against assassination, Hinojosa established himself 
in a well-furnished house, and dispensed lavish hospitality to 
all comers. The impecunious adventurers congregated at 
Panama were filled with wine, and regaled with stories of the 
fabulous wealth of Peru. Free passage and liberal pay were 
promised to all enlisting under the banner of Gonzalo Pizarro. 

The Viceroy's captains, Illanes and Guzman, seeing their 
men desert to the enemy, attempted to steal away to Peru; 
but were brought back, and succumbed to the wiles of Hino- 
josa. At the end of the forty-five days Hinojosa had won over 
most of the opposing parties ; and, amid the acclamations of the 
populace, made a formal entry into Panama at the head of his 
forces. As honest as he was able — a rare combination at any 
period — Hinojosa took no advantage of his bloodless victory. 

Two hundred fifty-nine 



CASTILLA 

He maintained discipline among his reckless followers, and 
protected the citzens in their rights and business. Hinojosa 
then despatched his son-in-law, Hernando Mejia de Guzman, 
with Pedro de Cabrera, across the Isthmus to take and hold 
Nombre de Dios ; and the highway to Peru was in the hands of 
Pizarro. 

A partisan of the viceroy, named Melchor Verdugo, escaped 
from Peru by seizing a vessel from the fleet of Bachicao, and 
sailed to Nicaragua with a company of men. He prepared 
several vessels on Lake Nicaragua, and sailed down the Rio San 
Juan to the North Sea. At the mouth of the Chagre he 
learned from some negroes, in charge of a boat, the state of 
affairs at Nombre de Dios, the number of soldiers stationed 
there, and the location of the quarters of the commandant. 
Verdugo quietly landed at Nombre de Dios in the night, and 
surrounded the house occupied by Mejia and his officers. The 
building was fired, but Mejia and Cabrera seized their weapons, 
and cutting their way through the enemy escaped to Panama; 
leaving Verdugo in possession of Nombre de Dios. 

Like so many of the coarse and ignorant Spanish com- 
manders whom fortune favored for the time, Verdugo imme- 
diately proceeded to abuse his power. He jailed the alcaldes, 
levied assessments, and made himself so obnoxious that the 
people tired of the loyalist forces; and Doctor Ribera, the 
mayor, appealed to Hinojosa for help. Hinojosa came to his 
aid with a picked company of veterans, and together they ran 
Verdugo to his boats ; whence a brisk cannonade was opened on 
the town, resulting only in loss of ammunition. 

Hinojosa was soon to find himself undermined by the same 
mild and insinuating methods which he had used to win over the 
people of the Isthmus. Pedro de la Gasca, a counsellor of the 
Inquisition, was sent over from Spain, with the title of Presi- 
dent of the Royal Audience, to settle the rebellious" condition 

" "Nothing could have happened that would draw the attention of 
the court of Spain to the affairs of the New World more effectually 
than rebellion, as I have before intimated. The discovery and con- 
quest of America cannot be classed as an achievement of the nation. It 
was a magnificent accident, in the busy reigns of Ferdinand and 
Isabella, and Charles. Those sovereigns, absorbed in wars and involved 
in ambitious intrigues at home, with a vast continent thrust upon them 
by a Genoese navigator, could scarcely find time to do more than grant 
permits to adventurers to subjugate, at their own cost, new territories 
in the western world, and to receive when remitted to them the royal 
fifth of the returns. But rebellion, of whatsoever magnitude or shape, 
is always distasteful to a sovereign. Therefore when tidings reached 
Spain that the emperor's representative in Peru had been maltreated, 

Tzvo hundred sixty 



DHL ORO 



of affairs in Peru. With a small retinue, among whom were 
the manscalAXonso de Alvarado, who fought under Francisco 
I'lzarro, and the adelantado Pascual de Andagoya, the priest 
sailed from San Lucar on the 26th of May, 1546. TouEg 
at banta Marta he received the astounding intelligence of the 
defeat and death of the Viceroy at the battle of Afiaquito, and 
began to appreciate the gravity of the work before him The 
president was in doubt as to which way to attempt to' reach 
f'eru, but decided to proceed direct to Nombre de Dios. 

Hernando Mejia was uncertain how to receive the roval 
envoy He was willing to oppose the landing of an armed 
force but could see no danger in this poor ecclesiastic. He 
paraded his forces, saluted with cannon, and conducted the 
president to his own quarters. Gasca was the brainiest man 
that so far, had landed on the Isthmus. He was clothed with 

them. Of a calm and judicial mmd, he yet was versed in all 
he wily craft and casuistry of the priesthood. Hrannounced 
that he came on a mission of peace; that he had authority to 
grant pardon for all offences, and that it was his purpo e C 
proclaim the revocation of such of the New Laws as^bore mos? 
\^ltl °" f' 'fT'"'- ^^' ""^^'''^ °f the revolution were 

Mejia was completely won over, and placed himself and men 
at the disposal of the president. Hinojosa was not pieced 
with the action of his son-in-law, but when Mejia and Alvarado 
went over to Panama and explained matters to him he received 
the envoy with every outward resnert H-i-r!illo ^^^^^^ed 

easily handled by th? subtle' chuXan. "HeTsSdThe "p° esT 
dent to see h,s authority, and wanted to know if he had oower' 
to confirm Gonzalo Pizarro as ruler of Peru. The nrehS 
evaded this question, and the faithful Hinojosa immeSi,? 
wrote to Pizarro an aceount of the interview 'cascaaTso sent 

sending an armed /orce aJaTst P z r?o rbTinl™^^^^^^^^^ ^'^°^^*1 
insurrection in Peru were two very differei^Ss tL T^ ^"^ 
government could more easily make war ^o-! ;„«..? a T ^^panish 

Tzuo hundred sixty-one 



CASTIILA 

a diplomatic letter to Pizarro, and by a Dominican friar he 
despatched manifestoes to the principal towns. 

Upon receipt of the president's letter, Pizarro called a council 
of his officers and the principal citizens of Lima. It was decided 
to send an embassy to Spain to petition the emperor to con- 
firm Pizarro in the government of Peru; and a resolution, 
signed by seventy cavaliers, was forwarded to Gasca, stating 
that the country now enjoyed the blessings of peace, and that 
his presence would not only tend to distract the province, but 
would probably cost him his life. Lorenzo de Aldana headed 
the embassy for Spain, but on arriving at Panama, he, too, fell 
under the spell of the crafty envoy, and deserted the side of 
Pizarro. Hinojosa finally turned over his fleet, and Gasca 
wrote to all the governors for assistance, impressed every 
available man on the Isthmus into his service, and on the 13th 
of June, 1547, he arrived at Tumbez in command of more than 
a thousand men. 

Had Gonzalo Pizarro been a great man, he would have 
chopped off the head of Pedro de la Gasca, and have become 
king of Peru. As it was, Pedro de la Gasca chopped off the 
head of Gonzalo Pizarro, on the field of Xaquixaguana ; and 
Peru remained, for two centuries and a half longer, a province 
of Spain. 

Several years after the down-fall of Gonzalo Pizarro, another 
rebellion was started, in Nicaragua, with the same object in 
view, viz., to seize the Isthmus and Peru, and set up a monarchy 
independent of Spain. The ring-leaders in this revolution were 
Hernando and Pedro de Contreras, sons of the deposed gover- 
nor of Nicaragua, and grandsons of old Pedrarias, Largely 
through the enmity of Bishop Valdivieso and the friars, Gover- 
nor Rodrigo de Contreras had been deprived — probably unjustly 
— of his property and estates in Nicaragua. Returning to Spain 
to seek justice, he was turned down by the Council of the 
Indies, and forbidden to return to Nicaragua. 

This left the sons in comparative poverty, and they deter- 
mined by force of arms to recover their father's property. In 
Nicaragua, at this time, were certain refugees from Peru; 
among them, Juan Bermejo and Rodrigo Salguero, whom Gasca 
had banished for attempt at insurrection after the execution of 
Gonzalo Pizarro. Bermejo was an old friend of the Contreras 
family, and it was he who instigated the sons to the grander 
scheme of seizing the government of Castilla del Oro and Peru ; 
"the audacity of which has no parallel in the history of Spanish 
colonization." If successful, Hernando was to be proclaimed 
king of Peru, believed to contain more of the precious metals 
than all the rest of the world. 

Two hundred sixty-two 



DHL ORO 

Preparations were begun at Granada, and men secretly 
enlisted. The brothers appear to have been held in high esteem 
by the colonists, and they received a considerable following. 
The headquarters were then moved to Leon, leaving Pedro, the 
younger brother, at his mother's house in Granada, so as not 
to excite suspicion. At Leon, the elder brother invited his 
friends to a pretended merry-making, when he denounced the 
rulings of the Audiencia, by which so many of the conquerors 
had been deprived of their lands and encomiendas of natives. 
Hernando claimed that he was entitled to the government of 
Peru by certain rights inherited from his grandfather, Pedrarias 
Davila. There was no basis for this preposterous claim, but his 
reckless adherents saw a chance to share in the spoils of the rich 
country to the south. 

As a measure of prudence, as well as to avenge the disgrace 
of Rodrigo de Contreras, the party proceeded to the residence 
of Bisohp Valdivieso to put him to death. Hernando and an 
apostate friar, named Castaneda, entered the house and stabbed 
the prelate to death before the eyes of his aged mother, the 
point of Hernando's dagger breaking off in the victim's breast. 
After looting the dwelling of gold and jewels, the conspirators 
rushed into the plaza, and proclaimed Hernando "captain 
general of liberty." Then proceeding to the treasury building, 
these early disciples of liberty quickly divided its contents 
among themselves. 

Hernando, with the main body of the rebels, went to Realejo 
to enlist men and seize the ships ; Salguero was despatched to 
Nicoya for like purpose; while Bermejo, with about thirty men, 
returned to Granada to destroy the vessels on Lake Nicaragua, 
so that no news of the uprising could reach Nombre de Dios. 
As Bermejo approached the city, he found himself confronted 
by Captain Luis Carillo with a hastily mustered force, much 
superior in numbers. Many of .these, however, deserted to the 
revolutionists. There was a brief skirmish, during which 
Carillo and several of his men were killed, when Bermejo took 
possession of the city. Bermejo then joined the other leaders on 
the west coast, being accompanied by the young Pedro, much 
against the wishes of his mother, Doha Maria. Soon after their 
departure from Granada, the alcaldes ordered a vessel to be 
constructed for the purpose of sending warning of the threat- 
ened invasion to Nombre de Dios ; but Dona Maria scared them 
out of this intention by declaring that her sons had information 
of their doings, and were even then returning to destroy the 
city. The officials hastily begged the lady to assure them that 
no messages would be sent to the Isthmus. 

Two hundred sixty-three 



C ASTILLA 

The conspirators seized the vessels on the Pacific side, and 
learned from persons recently arrived from Peru that Pedro de 
la Gasca was then returning to Spain with a large amount of 
treasure. It was necessary to hurry to Panama in order to 
intercept this silver and gold. If successful, they would put 
Gasca and the governor of Panama to death ; levy an army of 
six hundred men on the Isthmus ; send the women and children 
to Cartagena; and burn Nombre de Dios, Panama, and Nata 
to the ground. Besides, the country was to be laid waste, the 
cattle killed off, and crops destroyed; so that if an army should 
be sent against them from Spain, it would have neither means 
of subsistence nor ships for transport. The rebels would then 
sail for Peru and endeavor to set up Hernando as king. All 
being ready for the desperate undertaking, the rebels, now 
numbering more than three hundred men, sailed from Nicoya 
for Punta de Higuera in the district of Nata, where they cap- 
tured a vessel loaded with corn. Continuing toward Panama, 
Hernando took another vessel, and learned from her crew that 
Gasca had arrived at Panama, and the strength of his forces. 
They decided to surprise the city by night, kill the governor, 
and thus create a panic among the citizens. As to Gasca, "they 
swore," says Vega, "to make powder of him, an article of which 
they were much in need." 

In the meantime, Gasca had arrived at Panama on the 12th 
of March, 1550, with the royal share of the famous Potosi and 
other mines in Peru, valued at eleven million castellanos. This 
he was ordered to ship to Spain with all speed, as it was needed 
to defray the expenses of the emperor's European wars. Gasca 
himself was to remain at Panama until the arrival of the newly 
appointed viceroy, Mendoza. He had with him one hundred 
and fifty veteran soldiers, and the seamen on the fleet numbered 
about four hundred and fifty. Nevertheless, Gasca felt uneasy 
for the safety of his treasure, and as the fleet from Spain had 
not yet arrived, he seized nineteen trading vessels anchored at 
Nombre de Dios, put on stores, and armed them with the artil- 
lery brought from Peru. On board these ships were placed all 
vagrants and those who had come from Spain without license, 
together with certain married men who had left their wives in 
Spain ; as the governor was determined to leave on the Isthmus 
none but settlers or traders, or those known to live on their 
means or by their labor. "Twelve hundred mule-loads of gold 
and silver were soon conveyed to the town of Cruces on the 
Chagre, there to be shipped in barges, under Gasca's charge, 
for transportation to the North Sea, and still a large amount of 
treasure awaited means of conveyance at Panama." 

Tivo hundred sixty-four 



DHL ORO 

The night of the 20th of April, 1550, was a memorable one 
in Old Panama. Hernando and Bermejo, with the main body 
of the revolutionists, landed at a small inlet about a league from 
the city, and under cover of the darkness made their entrance 
without opposition, shouting "Death to the Traitor !" and "Long 
live Prince Contreras, captain general of liberty." The gover- 
nor's house was plundered, and the governor escaped assassina- 
tion by being in Nombre de Dios. The royal treasury was 
seized, and so confident were the rebels of success that, instead 
of removing it to their ships, they deposited it with the mer- 
chants, who bound themselves before a notary to deliver it when 
called for either to Bermejo or Contreras. Arms and ammuni- 
tion were secured, and the people told that they came not to 
sack the town, but to seize the king's treasure, and to inaugur- 
ate a reign of liberty. In spite of this assurance, many of the 
lawless gang broke into the stores, and for the first time since 
leaving Spain, attired themselves in a new suit of clothes. 

Bermejo dragged the bishop from the cathedral, where he 
had fled for refuge, and urged that he and the other principal 
officials be put to death. Hernando, not wishing to shed blood 
unnecessarily, simply accepted their promise under oath to join 
the cause of the revolution ; whereupon Bermejo remarked to 
his tender-hearted leader, — "H you are in favor of your enemies 
and against yourself you will find that these very same men 
whose lives you now spare will, upon the first opportunity, turn 
about and hang you and all your followers." His words proved 
prophetic, for the city officials managed to send news of the 
invasion to Gasca. 

While this was going on, Pedro had seized the ships anchored 
off the city, and balguero, with twenty mounted arquebusiers, 
had hurried to Cruces in hopes of overtaking Gasca and the 
governor, and capturing the treasure. The two officials had 
already departed with most of the wealth, but five hundred bars 
of silver were still in the village. Hernando, with only forty 
men, left Panama for Nombre de Dios, and at a place called 
La Venta de Chagre he overtook a messenger to Gasca, named 
Gomez de Tapia, whom he strung up to a tree, with a paper 
attached to his feet, with this inscription, "This man was 
hanged for carrying advices to Gasca." The job was done in 
a bungling manner, and Tapia survived the interesting experi- 
ence. A mulatto boy who gave some fruitless information, was 
hanged at the same place. Arrived at Capira, within three and 
a half leagues of the town, Henando rested until Gasca, with 
the treasure, should reach Nombre de Dios by way of the 
Chagres river and the sea. 

Two hundred sixty-five 



CASTILLA 

Bermejo, foolishly, started from Panama to join Hernando, 
believeing, doubtless, that Hernando's force was too small to 
cope with Gasca. This left only Pedro, on his vessels in front 
of the city. Hearing a commotion on shore, the latter sent a 
boat to ascertain the cause. The church bells were ringing, and 
the citizens shouting, "Long live the king!" and "Death to 
tyrants !" The boat's crew were captured, and an attempt made 
to take the ships of Pedro. One of the captive sailors was 
placed in the boat and it was rowed out to the fleet, followed 
by three others filled with armed men. When challenged, the 
sailor was forced to answer, "Hernando de Contreras, the 
prince of liberty." The men then attempted to board the ves- 
sels, but were repulsed with the loss of six of their number. 
During the fight, the sailor got free of his bonds, and swam off 
to his ship. 

When Bermejo arrived at Chagre, he received tidings of the 
turn of affairs in Panama, and hurried back, vowing to hang 
and quarter every one who had broken their vows. He des- 
patched couriers to Salguero and Hernando, and made the 
fourteen leagues march back to Panama in one day, and with- 
out giving his tired men any rest, attacked the city that same 
night. The people had thrown up barricades, and fought from 
the house-tops, causing Bermejo to beat a retreat. He decided 
to fire the place the following night, and slaughter every one 
over twelve years of age. One of his captives happened to 
overhear the plan, and induced a negro to carry the information 
into the city. 

The next day, the men of Panama placed the women and 
children in the cathedral, and about noon sallied out to give the 
rebels battle. Bermejo was greatly astonished at their audacity, 
and withdrew to a neighboring hill to await the onslaught; 
where he was joined by Salguero, who just arrived from 
Cruces, Salguero had packed some of his captured treasure 
on mules, and brought it along; but most of it was lost, being 
thrown in the river, or stolen by negroes. The combined forces 
put up a desperate fight, but the reinvigorated men of Panama 
overpowered the rebels, and killed ninety of them on the field, 
including the two leaders, Bermejo and Salguero. The remain- 
der were led in fetters to the jail, where they were all stabbed 
to death ; the alguacil mayor, Rodrigo de Villalba, plunging his 
own dagger into the breasts of many, and not allowing them 
the consolation of religion. 

Leaving twenty-five men under Landa to hold the passes at 
Capira, Hernando hastened back to the assistance of his lieuten- 
ant. Hearing at Chagre the result of the battle, he disbanded 

Two hundred sixty-six 



DHL ORO 

his little force, bidding them to make their way to the sea- 
shore, where they might be picked up by his brother, Pedro. 
With three companions, Hernando then struck off in the direc- 
tion of Nata. The men left at Capira, fearing an attack by 
Gasca, returned across the Isthmus, and when near Panama 
were attacked; but escaped during the night, and also sought 
the coast. 

Meanwhile, when Gasca got down to the mouth of the 
Chagre, he received news from Nombre de Dios that Panama 
was in the hands of a rebel band. After crushing rebellion in 
Peru, and bringing the royal treasure to the shore of the Atlan- 
tic, the president found himself in a critical situation. As 
usual, he faced the danger instead of flying from it. He pro- 
ceeded direct to Nombre de Dios, and soon restored confi- 
dence to the terror-stricken inhabitants. Finding he was not 
attacked by the rebels, Gasca started out to hunt them; but 
when about to depart, he received news from Panama that the 
rebellion was already crushed. 

When Bermejo met with defeat, Pedro de Contreras sailed 
towards Nata with two of his best ships, abandoning the others. 
The Panama forces started in pursuit in four vessels, and came 
up with Pedro at Punta de Higuera. The rebels escaped to 
the shore, where some were captured, and others died of star- 
vation. Landa's party was taken, and he himself was hanged 
and quartered at the same tree at Venta de Chagre, from which 
the mulatto boy was suspended. Of all the captive rebels, only 
twelve were spared, and these were sent to Spain to work in 
the galleys. Hernando and his men reached the south coast, 
and put to sea in a canoe; but were driven back by rough 
weather, and dispersed along the shore. Enfeebled by his 
labors and hunger, Hernando was drowned while fording a 
river. The body was discovered, and identified by his clothing 
and a golden ornament suspended from the neck. The head 
which aspired to wear a crown was removed, and exposed in 
an iron cage in the plaza at Panama. 

If Hernando de Contreras had possessed the cunning and 
merciless ability displayed by his grandsire, he, too, might 
have ruled the Isthmus, and have won the government of Peru. 
Had one region seceded from Spain, the other provinces would 
have followed; as there was much discontent among the old 
conquerors and colonists, and the time was ripe for revolt. 
Not republics, but monarchies would have been started, and 
the history of the New World would tell quite a different story. 

Tzvo hundred sixty-seven 



CASTILLA DEL ORO. 

"When the wild beasts of a forest have hunted down their prey, 
there comes the difficulty of tearing it into equal or rather into satis- 
fying shares, which mostly ends in renewed bloodshed. Nor is the 
same stage of the proceedings less perilous to associates amongst the 
higher animals ; and men, notwithstanding all their writings and agree- 
ments, rules, forms, and orders, are hardly restrained from flying at 
each other's throats, when they come to the distribution of profits, 
honors, or rewards. The feud between the Pizarros and the Almagros, 
which forms the next great series of events in American history, is one 
of the most memorable quarrels in the world. Pizarro and Almagro 
were two rude, unlettered men, of questionable origin ; but their dis- 
putes were of as much importance to mankind as almost any which 
occurred in that century, rich as it is in historical incident, except the 
long-continued quarrel between the Emperor Charles the Fifth and 
Francis the First. Moreover, the European feud between these 
monarchs was important chiefly on account of its indirect conse- 
quences, inasmuch as it gave room for the Reformation to grow and 
establish itself ; but this dire contest in America destroyed almost every 
person of any note who came within its influence, desolated the country 
where it originated, prevented the growth of colonization, and changed 
for the worse the whole course of legislation for the Spanish colonies. 
Its effects were distinctly visible for a century afterwards, whereas the 
wars between France and Spain, though they seemed to be all-important 
at the time, did not leave any permanent mark upon either country." 
Sir Arthur Helps, Spanish Conquest in America, Vol. 4, p. i. 



Two hundred sixty-eight 



CHAPTER XVII 



EARLY DESCRIPTIONS 

OF 

VERAGUA AND PANAMA. 

Nearly Literal Translations from Original Documents. 

A feupe; II. 

Ya que el sujeto reino lusitano 
Inclina al yugo la cerviz paciente, 
Y todo el grande esfuerzo de Ocidente 
Teneis, sacro Senor, en vuestra mano, 

Volved contra el suelo horrida africano 
El firme pecho y vuestra osada gente, 
Que su poder, su corazon valiente, 
Que tanto fue, sera ante el vuestro en vano- 

Cristo OS da la pujanza de este imperio 
Para que la fe nuestra se adelante 
Per du su santo nombre es ofendido. 

iQuien contra vos, quien contra el reino hesperio 
Bastard alzar la frente, que al instante 
No se derribe a vuestros pies rendido? 

Fernando de Herrera. 

ROYAL cedula, dated Madrid, 24th of Decem- 
ber, 1534, declared that the contract and capi- 
tulation with Felipe Gutierrez was without 
prejudice to whatever rights and privileges the 
Admiral, D. Luys Colon, might have in the 
province of Veragua. 

On the 19th of January, 1537, Veragua was 
made a dukedom with preeminence of domain ; 
comprising 625 square leagues of land, 25 
leagues from the Rio Belen west to Bahia 
Corabora, and 25 leagues towards the Sea of 
the South. The duchy did not reach to the 
South Sea, as the distance across the Isthmus at this point was 
estimated at from 30 to 40 leagues. 

In 1539, the Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomas de Berlanga, 
in the name of the Vicequeen D.a Maria de Toledo, mother of 
Don L,uis Colon, executed a capitulation or contract with Her- 
nan Sanchez de Badajoz for the conquest and colonization of 




Two hundred sixty-nine 



BARLY DUSCRIPTIONS 

the Duchy of Veragua. At the same time, Doctor Robles, oidor 
of the Audiencia of Panama, in the name of the King, author- 
ized Badajoz, who was his son-in-law, to conquer and exploit 
the territory belonging to the Crown outside of Veragua. This 
contract was not approved by the King. In the meantime, 
Badajoz going into the disputed lands on the confines of Costa- 
Rica, was arrested and sent to Spain by Rodrigo de Contreras, 
who claimed that region by the exploration of Captain Alonso 
Calero, who went down the Desaguadero (the outlet of Lake 
Nicaragua) in 1539 with Machuca. 

In the year 1546, Don Luis Colon, Duke of Veragua, sent 
Cristobal de Pena to settle his duchy, but the latter returned 
without having accomplished anything. 

In the city of Nata, the loth of April, 1556, Francisco Vas- 
quez {"el magnyfico senor"), lieutenant of the Governor for 
the said city, and a number of the citizens held a meeting, and 
passed resolutions to send an agent to Spain to treat with Luis 
Colon, and induce him to settle two towns in his territory^ The 
next day, the Ayuntamiento of Nata wrote a letter to the Duke, 
stating that the Indians (presumably from Veragua) came 
secretly to Nata to trade hammocks, carrying hatchets, daggers, 
and other arms ; and that the residents of that city were sending 
Miguel Sanchez de la Reta, escrihano publico, to negotiate with 
the Duke, and begged to hope that his lordship would settle the 
duchy of Coro Boro, or Veragua. Five days later, April 15th, 
this letter was endorsed in the city of Panama, and attested by 
three notaries public. 

This same year, on the 2d of December, 1556, Don Luis 
Colon, in consideration of a yearly rental of 7,000 ducats, 
renounced his claims to Veragua, and the province became a 
part of the crown lands. The people of Nata then wrote to 
the King of Spain, petitioning that his majesty give them per- 
mission to elect a governor and populate Veragua, dividing the 
district among the citizens and settlers. 

By royal cedula, dated Valladolid 21st of January, 1557, the 
King authorized the officials and citizens {vecinos) of Nata to 
settle the province, land, and dukedom of Veragua ; giving them 
thirteen good instructions how the conquest and settlements 
should be made. They were not to settle west of the Escudo on 
the North Sea, or the Rio Chiriqui Viejo on the South Sea. 

Soon after this, the King, through Licentiate Monjaraz at 
Panama, made Francisco Vasquez Governor and Captain Gen- 
eral of the province of Veragua. Vasquez had some differences 
with Monjaraz as to who should enter the territory, but con- 

Tw6 hundred seventy 



OP VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

quered him in battle, and discovered (descubrio) the greater 
part of Veragua, founding therein two cities. 

The government to the north continued to meddle in the 
affairs of this region, and on December i8th, 1559, the Audien- 
cia de los Confines, up at Comayagua in Honduras, instructed 
Licenciado Cavallon, alcalde mayor of Nicaragua, to found a 
town in Veragua, in peace and not with war. In the following 
year, 1560, another royal cedula was issued authorizing settle- 
ment in Veragua. 

i 
An unsigned account of Veragua, dated 1560, describes that 
province as thirty leagues in extent from the North to the 
South Sea. On the north coast, in the port formed by the 
mouth of the Rio Concebcion, was the town of Concepcion, 
headquarters and smelter for the mines. Here resided a 
teniente de general, two alcaldes and regidores, and the lieu- 
tenants of the royal officials who lived in Santa Fe. From 
Conception to a place called Llerena, among the mines, was 
three leagues of level road over which horses could travel when 
they might have them, and over which provisions were carried 
from the port to the mines. As the land could not be cultivated 
on account of the abundant rains, supplies were brought from 
Santo Domingo, Cuba, Jamaica, Cartagena, and Nicaragua; 
and could be landed in Veragua only from the end of April to 
November, because during the rest of the year storms ("muy 
brava por las brisas") prevailed upon that coast causing the 
loss of ships and frigates. 

From the port of the mines it was ten leagues to Santa Fe, 
by a road passable only afoot. At that time, Santa Fe consisted 
of above 50 houses, and counted 10 or 12 married men, and 30 
bachelors. Twelve leagues beyond Santa Fe was Nafd, from 
whence cattle were brought to furnish the miners with meat, 
for the mines of Veragua being in the mountains, there were 
no pastures for cattle. Ten leagues from Santa Fe, in another 
direction, in an Indian province, was a settlement called Trota, 
founded by Francisco Vasquez with 100 Spaniards; later 
depopulated by the war stirred up by the governor, Nonjaraz. 
The white men, however, would go back to Trota because it 
possessed mines of pure gold as well as gold mixed with cop- 
per; besides, there would be 40 repartimientos of Indians for 
40 settlers. Forty leagues from Trota in the direction of Nica- 
ragua, "which is almost towards where the sun sets" (que es cast 
hacia donde el sol se pone), was the province named El Duy 
[or Talamanca, now in Costa Rica] , where it would be neces- 



Two hundred seventy-one 



BARLY DESCRIPTIONS 

sary to establish another town, as that region also was reported 
to possess many mines of gold. 

From Concepcion westward, the north coast was settled as 
far as the valley of Calobegola, an Indian district; beyond 
which was the valley of Guaymi, a large province rich in mines, 
ruled by Cacique Cape, who would furnish over fifteen reparti- 
mientos. Opposite the valley of Guaymi, near the mainland, 
was an island called Escudo de Nicuesa [Escudo de Veragua] , 
where were two caciques with many people. 

In November, 1560, was founded a place called Castillo de 
Austria, on a river somewhat inland from the Chiriqui Lagoon. 
This location was abandoned or destroyed; and, in 1575, the 
settlement was moved to "Puerto del Suerre, Nueva villa del 
Castillo de Austria," which was on the port of San Geronimo 
[Bahia del Almirante] in the province of Cartago and Costa 
Rica. 

In the year 1575, Dr. Alonso Criado de Castilla, senior oidor 
of the Royal Audience of Panama, describes the settled portion 
of Castilla del Oro as being eighty leagues in length, from the 
Gulf of San Miguel to the Concepcion de Veragua. From 
Concepcion on the north coast to Philipina on the South Sea 
was twenty-four leagues, while the distance from Nombre de 
Dios to Panama was only twelve leagues, though by the wind- 
ing camin.0 real it was eighteen leagues. Within these confines 
the white inhabitants could freely move and trade, but the rest 
of the land was held by hostile Indians and remained to be 
conquered. The land in possession of the Spaniards was 
divided into two principal part? ; first the province of Veragua, 
and second the province of Panama, properly called Tierra- 
Firme. 

Veragua was 30 leagues long from Concepcion in the north 
to the settlement of Meriato on the south coast, and twenty 
leagues wide from the city of Concepcion to the Rio del 
Calobre. Concepcion was the principal town, the seat of the 
royal Hacienda, where resided the Governor and other ofificials. 
It possessed thirty inhabitants whose wealth consisted of 
negroes who mined the gold in gangs of 50 or 60 at a place 
named Rio de Santiago del Turluri {"que se dice el rrio de 
Santiago del Turluri''), three leagues from Concepcion. The 
slaves at the mines occupied more than 30 houses, where also 
was a church, and a priest who said mass at the expense of the 
owners of the said negroes. 

Twelve leagues from the mines was another city called 

Two hundred seventy-two 



OP VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

Sancta Fee, the first settlement in the discovery of this province, 
with 30 citizens who sold their cattle to the people at the mines. 
The first governor and discoverer of Veragua, excepting Bada- 
joz, was Francisco Vazquez, who founded the two cities of 
Santa Fe and Concepcion. 

Farther off, 20 leagues from Santa Fe, was another place 
which they called La Philipina, settled by Alonso Vaca, born in 
these parts. The 20 white residents sustained themselves upon 
the corn furnished by the Indians who had been divided among 
them. Five leagues by sea from Philipina, and twenty by land, 
was another white settlement called Meriato, which was not a 
regular town, but a place where seven or eight Spaniards lived, 
and gathered gold with 50 negroes. 

Veragua is described as being very rough and mountainous, 
with neither meadows nor flat land ; so that one could not 
travel on horseback, but only on foot. Vegetation grew large 
and dense, and to erect houses it was necessary to cut away 
the trees. In the mountains was but little game, and scarcely 
any birds. There were many large rivers of fresh water. The 
greater part of the year it rained excessively {"llueve la mayor 
parte del ano excesivamente") , so that the rivers overflowed, 
twice invading Concepcion. The character of the country was 
very humid and at the same time hot, except Santa Fe, which 
was on elevated land and cool; and all the province was un- 
healthy. The white men became very yellow in color, and the 
feet swelled, of which many died. However, the gold mined in 
this region, though not excessive in quantity, was very fine, 
being twenty-two carats and one grain, only one grain under 
the legal standard. "And this is, in substance, the province of 
Veragua," adds the writer. 

The other part of the kingdom of Castilla del Oro was the 
province of Panama, at the head of which was the city of 
Panama on the shores of the Sea of the South. Here resided 
the presidente and oidores of the Audiencia Real, and it was 
the seat of the cathedral church. Panama consisted of 400 
houses, which, though built of wood, were very handsomely 
constructed. The citizens numbered 500, although it was 
common to have 800 men present in the city. The people of 
Panama are described as being all Spaniards, and a great part 
of them originally from the city of Seville. They were very 
polite and of much understanding. The men engaged in trade 
and trafllc, except fifteen or twenty who had estates in the 
country and raised cattle. Most of the citizens were rich, 
though a few had come to want by reason of the high prices 
of things, and many of little fortune were in passage to Peru. 

Two hundred seventy-three 



BARLY DESCRIPTIONS 

About Panama were good level fields and many fertile 
meadows, and an abundance of vegetables ; but the land was 
not cultivated for want of people, and those who were there 
were not inclined to work the soil. They raised many cattle but 
no other herds, and possessed recuas, or pack-trains of mules. 
The citizens of Panama also owned barges, worked by their 
negro slaves, which carried the merchandise, brought to Nom- 
bre de Dios from Spain, up the Chagre river to the house 
called Cruces. Cruces was a deposito, or warehouse, between 
the two seas, owned by the city of Panama, where were assem- 
bled the articles from Spain and the produce of Peru. In the 
house at Cruces were rooms let to the traders, half a peso for 
each day. At this place could be a population, and it would be 
very convenient, especially for raising maiz and other provi- 
sions for people coming up the river and stopping there. 

The Rio de Chagre was a beautiful river, its banks shaded 
by many trees, carrying a great quantity of very fresh and 
clear water. The distance from Nombre de Dios to the mouth 
of the Chagre by sea was i8 leagues, as the journey by land 
was impossible on account of the roughness and impervious- 
ness of the mountains and woods. From the mouth of the 
river up to Cruces where the barges unloaded, was likewise i8 
leagues, and from Cruces overland to Panama was 6 leagues. 
Corsairs hung about the mouth of the river to rob the barges, 
and had caused much loss. The pack-trains, which were many 
and expensive, in like manner carried commodities and pas- 
sengers from the city of Nombre de Dios, and from the said 
house of Cruces to Panama. 

Near the city of Panama, upon the side which did not border 
upon the plain, commenced the mountain, which was so wooded 
that one could not travel through it without cutting away the 
dense and interwoven branches ; an opportunity which encour- 
aged the runaway slaves {los negro s Cimarrones) to hide there 
and defend themselves, and by which they succeeded many 
times in reaching the city on that side without being perceived 
and stealing the negresses. Somewhat distant from Panama 
was good water; but the people used that from a little river 
near by, though the water was not so healthy. The city con- 
tained three monasteries, though the friars were not many. 
The oldest was La Merced, where dwelt 6 or 7 religiosos ; soon 
afterwards San Francisco was established, where resided 7 or 
8; and the newest was Santo Domingo, with 3 or 4 members. 
These houses were very poor and sustained by public alms. 

7zvo hundred seventy-four 



OF VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

The hospital was the refuge of all the sick of this land to 
be cured of their diseases, and commonly it sheltered more than 
60 indigent sick. It was supported by the charity of the popu- 
lace, because its income of 1,700 pesos was not sufficient, as it 
expended more than 6,000 pesos annually. Great care was 
taken in the refreshment of the poor patients, the President, 
Oidores, Alcaldes, Regidores, and most of the principal citi- 
zens taking their turn every day in assisting the hospital service 
and administrador in the treatment and needs of the sick, 
whence resulted much benefit and many cures. 

The only church was the Cathedral; a very elegant temple, 
though constructed of wood. The Most Reverend Bishop was 
assisted in the ministry of it by a dean, precentor, and canon. 
The ecclesiastics were supported by the tenths collected from 
the bishopric of Panama and the province of Veragua, amount- 
ing in the year 1574, to 2,395 P^sos de plata ensayada. 

Panama was much molested by the cimarrones, who traveled 
through the mountain in gangs commanded by Captains, and 
ruled by a black King, whom all obeyed. They went naked, and 
carried very large and strong bows with sharp-pointed arrows, 
spears, darts, and machetes; and did not use poison on 
their arms because they did not understand it. They possessed 
no arquebuses nor other ingenious weapons because they were 
barbarous and did not have the industry to make them; al- 
though among the escaped slaves were smiths who fabricated 
the irons for the lances and arrows. These cimarrones went 
out upon the road from Nombre de Dios to Panama, robbing 
the trains of merchandise, and usually killing the people they 
met ; as well as inflicting loss on the cattle-ranches and among 
the herds. Always harmful, these outlaws were especially dan- 
gerous when they joined with their friends, the French and 
English, who furnished them arms ; for which reason Panama 
was exposed to great peril from these enemies. 

This land was very hot because the sun burns with great 
force. It is in 9 degrees of latitude, and the days and nights 
are equal, except a difference of three-quarters of an hour in 
summer, which is from December to the last of April, when 
the nights were coolish and the sky serene and clear. The 
other months of the year was the season of winter with cloudy 
nights, and rains with tempests of thunder and lightning. The 
province of Panama was sickly, though not so much so as 
Veragua. "The malice of the air corrupts everything, so that 
even iron is consumed and destroyed." 

As no wheat could be raised on the Isthmus, flour was 
brought from Peru. In the mountains was plenty of game. 

Two hundred seventy-five 



BARLY DESCRIPTIONS 

On that side of the city of Panama close to where were 
located the houses of the Royal Audience, was the port where 
only small vessels and barks gathered, for when the sea fell, 
which was twice in the course of day and night, the waters 
receded more than a league, leaving them his^h and dry. The 
little vessels loaded and unloaded the big ships which lay in a 
sheltered and quiet haven, two leagues from the city, at an 
island which they called Perico, where came each year more 
than forty ships from Peru and Nicaragua. 

Fifteen leagues from the city were more than fifteen islands 
called the Pearl Islands, where some citizens of Panama col- 
lected many pearls with their slaves. Five leagues from the 
city was the island of Otoque, and three leagues from Panama 
was the island of Taboga ; both tilled and cultivated by some 
inhabitants of Panama, who planted and harvested corn. 

Eighteen leagues from the city of Panama was Nomhre de 
Dios, the port on the Sea of the North where came the flotas 
and ships from Spain. The harbour offered little shelter, and 
was very dangerous when the northers blew, during which 
many ships were lost, and one year, 1565, an entire fleet, the 
general of which was Aguayo. Nombre de Dios comprised 200 
houses, but most of the owners lived there only when the fleets 
arrived, when they went to buy or receive their goods ; the rest 
of the year only fifty inhabitants remained. The town was 
very unhealthy by reason of being inclosed on the land side by 
very dense and thick-grown mountains. The heat was exces- 
sive, and it rained during the greater part of the year, the 
heavens being almost always clouded. Nombre de Dios was 
reputed to be the grave-yard of Spaniards, for so many people 
who came with the fleets died there. The place was much 
harassed by the privateers in the North Sea, and by the cimar- 
rones on land. The church was spacious, and there was a poor 
monastery where lived one or two Dominicans. The hospital 
was but ill provided for the many sick it was called upon to 
treat, and depended largely upon alms from the inhabitants of 
the city. 

Thirty leagues from Panama was another small city, called 
Nata, governed by an alcalde mayor furnished by the Audi- 
ence at Panama. It was quiet and well situated, with fertile 
fields. The sixty, inhabitants supported themselves by their 
herds and agriculture, like the farmers of Castile. Three 
leagues beyond Nata were two Indian towns, the one named 
Ola, and the other Pueblo Nuevo de los Reyes de Chiru; each 

Tivo-hundred seventy-six 



OP VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

containing a little more than lOO natives. These Indians were 
not held in vassalage (encomienda) but were free, paying the 
king of Spain the tenths of their cattle and maiz. They were 
ruled by one of their number elected by the city of Nata, and 
when he did not give satisfaction the Audiencia appointed 
another Indian. 

Nine leagues from Nata was the Spanish town called La 
Villa de los Santos, of 50 inhabitants, few of whom had helped 
to settle it. They enjoyed good water and fields, and supplied 
the city of Panama with beef and corn, gathering each year 
more than 30,000 bushels of maiz. Half a league from this 
place was a settlement of 90 or 100 Indians, called Cubitd; free 
like the others, and poor. They raised cattle and corn. 

Six leagues from the city of Panama (in the opposite direc- 
tion) was the Indian town of Chepo inhabited by 130 natives 
with their cacique, and 7 or 8 Spaniards. These Indians, like 
those of the other towns mentioned, were free, and were re- 
quired to pay to His Majesty the tenth of what they produced. 
Each Indian village had its church and a clerigo who instructed 
them in the faith. 

The white people in Castilla del Oro did not serve, neither 
were they inclined to work, all the labor being performed by 
slaves, which accounted for the great number of negroes in the 
kingdom, amounting in all to 8,629. The author of this report 
then proceeds to enumerate the slaves held in each district, and 
the taxes paid by each town. 

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Spanish Crown 
addressed 355 intelligent interrogatories to the Spanish cities, 
towns, and native villages in the islands and firm land of the 
Western Indies ; requiring the officials in these places to make 
careful investigations, and forward prompt returns. The king 
wanted to know if the population was a city or town of Span- 
iards, or an Indian settlement — the number of men and women, 
and whether born in Spain or Creoles — the number of married 
men, bachelors, and old persons — the name of the town, its 
founders, and in what year — a plan of the city, and its coat-of- 
arms — its castles, forts, and means of defense — was it a good 
port and could they repair ships — if the town had a cathedral 
church, and was it sumptuous or plain — what convents of friars 
and nuns, and was there a university or seminary — officials and 
their salaries — how many keys to the treasure chest, and who 
held them — name of the province and audience — who was gov- 
ernor or corregidor — was the place on the highway, and where 

Two hundred seventy-seven 



BARLY DBSCRIPTIONS 

did it go — if through deserts, were there inns for travelers — 
number of tributary Indians, their food, drink, and productions 
— about the graves, ancient rites, and traditions of the Indians — 
what the Spaniards planted and raised, and their herds — num- 
ber of mule and horse trains — number of negroes free and 
slave, and cimarrones, mulatos, and tamhaygos — what rivers 
and their fishes — the animals, roots, herbs, and minerals there- 
about? etc. 

Among the Spanish archives we come across many accounts 
and descriptions of provinces and towns in America, obviously 
made in reply to these questions. A report on Castilla del Oro, 
dated 1610, describes the city of Panama (Vieja) as com- 
posed of 4 streets running east and west, and 7 from the south 
to north, a large plaza and two small ones, a cathedral, 5 con- 
vents, a hospital, 7 royal houses and prison, tribunal and gaol, 
the cabildo, 2 ermitas, 332 fine houses covered with tile, 40 little 
houses, 112 straw shacks, 2 bridges, meat-market and slaughter- 
house. All the houses were of wood, except eight which were 
built of stone, being the houses of the Cabildo, the Audiencia, 
Hospital, Jesuit's convent, nunnery of the Conception and 
slaughter-house. 

The city then contained 548 citizens, 303 women, 156 chil- 
dren, 146 mulattoes, 148 free negroes, and 3,500 African slaves, 
male and female. 

Old Panama commenced at a small plaza, 60 yards square, 
on the beach of the port at the east end of the city, and ex- 
tended westward 1,412 yards to the convent of La Merced. 
The city was 487 yards in width, from the seashore on the 
south to the swamps and country on the north. Running north 
and south along the east beach was Calkers street. From the 
little plaza a street ran 232 yards west to the plasa mayor, 
which was 94 yards east to west, and 88 north to south. Upon 
the greater plaza were the houses of the Cabildo, the cathedral 
with six houses (five with porches), the provincial courts, and 
city gaol. 

From the great square went out two streets to the north, the 
one on the east ending in the quagmires of the port; the other, 
la calle de Santo Domingo, had on its right hand the convent of 
Santo Domingo, and terminated at a garden fence in the 
suburb, on the way to the hermitage of Santa Ana. From the 
great plaza ran three streets to the west. The one nearest the 
south beach was known as the Carrera, and on this street, not 
far from the plaza mayor was the meat-market, with a small 
plaza about it, with porches to the east and south v/here were 

1 wo hundred seventy-eight 



OP VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

sold fruit and garden-stuff. On Carrera street, 500 paces 
(pasos) from the great plaza was the hospital, built of lime, 
stone, and brick ; 200 yards farther on was located the convent 
of San Francisco; and 1.026 yards from the plaza was the 
convent, or monastery, of Merced. This street or road con- 
tinued on to the westward, and 350 yards from la Merced it 
crossed a stone bridge, the remains of which are yet in a fair 
state of preservation and give access to the ruins of Old 
Panama. 

In 1610, this bridge is described as being 80 paces in length, 
its walls of stone, and with only one arch. West of the bridge 
was the slaughter-house (matadero), also of stone. 

Parallel with la Carrera ran la Bmpedrada, the Paved street, 
finishing at the wall of the garden of San Francisco. On the 
right side of this street, 132 yards from the plaza, was the con- 
vent of the Compania de Jesus; and 470 yards from the plaza 
was the convent of nuns of la Concepcion. 

The third street from the south beach is not named in this 
report, but was parallel with the two preceding, and among the 
dwellings on it was the house of the Bishop. These three 
streets west of the plaza mayor were crossed by others going 
from the sea on the south towards the north. The royal houses 
of the Presidente, oidores, Audiencia, and auditor were situated 
by the shore in the southeast comer of the city, where two short 
streets came together upon a rocky surface, the one street being 
parallel to the port on the east, the other running along the 
water on the south. 

"The Street Of The Little Bridge" (La Calle de la Puente- 
zuela) was a short street 240 paces in length, in the northeast 
section of the city. It started at the northern end of the street 
of the Calkers and ran westward along the margin of the man- 
grove swamp, crossing a little stone bridge under which flowed 
an acequia during the rainy season. This water was not good 
to use. 

Besides the two stone bridges, there was a third one made 
of wood, 38 yards long, in the northern suburbs near the 
ermita of Santa Ana. The other hermitage was called San 
Cristobal, situated in the northwest quarter near St. Christo- 
pher's Hill, where occurred the destruction of the Contreras 
faction. 

The cathedral church, at this time, was called Santa Maria de 
la Antigua, the same as in the first settlement on the north 
coast. 

In the city were a great number of monks and officials. 
Among the tribunals were the Audiencia Real, ecclesiastic tribu- 

Two hundred seventy-nine 



EARLY DESCRIPTION S 

nal, orphans court, provincial court, the cabildo, ordinary- 
magistrates, and alcaldes of the holy brotherhood. 

The royal Audience' was established here in 1542, but passed 
to Guatimala in 1548 when Pedro Ramirez de Quinones was 
President. In the year 1550 took place the insurrection of the 
Contreras brothers, Sancho Clavijo being Governor. In 1562, 
under Governor D. Luis de Guzman, occurred another uprising 
headed by Rodrigo Mendez, a citizen of Panama. Mendez, 
together with 200 of his followers, was killed by the people of 
Panama. Under Doctor Barros de San Millan, the Audiencia 
returned to Panama from Guatimala, the 15th of May, 1565. 

About this time was an uprising of the negros cimarrones, 
which caused a war of considerable anxiety to the whites. In 
1578, some English [Oxenham's party, 1576] ascended the river 
of Puertofaisanes from the North Sea and entered the Rio de 
Indios which flowed into the South Sea, carrying material for 
launches, which they put together and began to rob the sea; 
but the Spaniards went out and conquered them, and secured 
that pass. The year 1596, Francisco Draque [Francis Drake] 
burnt Nombre de Dios, and sent 900 soldiers to Panama, who 
were opposed on the road. In 1602, Guillermo Parque [Wil- 
liam Parker], an Englishman, sacked Puertevelo. 

The governors of Panama were for four years, and had for 
salary the sale of the office of alguacil mayor of the city, which 
for the four years usually brought 12,000 pesos ensayados. 
The city of Panama had no custom-house, as it was not neces- 
sary, because everything came to Panama and Puertovelo by sea 
and was already taxed by the registers. The estates of the city 
were the house of Cruces,'' by Cedula of ist of December, 1536, 
which usually brought in each year 10,000 prs., but which then 
did not exceed 2,000. The privileges of the brokerage of 
exchange, mines, public crier, butchering, and rent of lots, each 
produced a small sum annually. 

Y'La Audiencia y chancilleria real de Panama 6 de Tierra-Firme 
fue creada por primera vez por reales cedulas del Emperador Carlos 
V. de Madrid, a 30 de febrero de 1535, y de Valladolid, a 2 de marzo 
de 1537." For a time this jurisdiction comprehended the provinces of 
Castilla del Oro, Rio de la Plata and Strait of Magellan, Nicaragua, 
Cartagena, Carabaro (the duchy and province of Veragua), Nueva 
Castilla, and Nueva Toledo. 

^ Besides the stopping-place at Cruces, there was another venta, or 
inn, called Chagre, near the highway, and six leagues from Panama, 
farther up the Chagres river. "Tiene la ciudad de Panama. 
por propios una aduana 6 venta que llaman Casa de Cruces, donde 
llegan las mercaderias por el rio de Chagre arriba, la cual esta cinco 
leguas de la dicha ciudad, de muy mal camino y de pasos muy traba- 

Two-hundred eighty 



OF VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

The city of Panama was located between two small rivers 
without names. The one to the north, with the wooden bridge, 
had its origin a league and a half away, and rose with the tide. 
The other river to the west, spanned by the stone bridge, took 
birth nearer, and did not run in summer. East of the city was 
a small port, where for forty years had entered ships of 5,000 
arrobas [60 tons] half laden. The river north of town emptied 
into the port, and with the wash from the streets was filling it 
up, so that barges could scarcely come in. However, two 
leagues to the south were the islands Nao, Perico, and Flamen- 
cos, where were shelter and good anchorage, serving as a port. 

Eastward of Old Panama were the rivers Juan Diaz, Pacora, 
rio de Francisca, Chico, rio Ballano [now spelled Bayano] with 
the island CKepillo in its mouth, Mamoni, Paciga, rio de Legar- 
tos, Chiman, Maestre, Luis de Torres, Congo, and Buenavista. 
Half a league west of the city was the Rio de Cardenas; at 
two leagues the Rio Grande ; at three, Rio de las Lazas ; seven, 
the Caimiso ; and at ten leagues, the Perequete. 

The districts about Panama formerly had many pueblos of 
Indians, but only three remained. That of Chepo was eight 
leagues to the east, between two rivers, the one half a league 
from the other. The one, called Baltano, was more than 40 
leagues long, and its mouth a league wide, up which the tide 
went 8 leagues without salting the water. The other river, 
called Mamoni, passed near the town, who drank from it. 
Both rivers had few fish, but many alligators. Chepo had 40 
Indian inhabitants, ruled by their own governor, constable, and 
two mandadores. 

On Isla del Key [King's Island] to the east, 18 leagues from 
Panama and 6 leagues from Tierra Firme, was another pueblo 
which usually contained 500 Indians, but then only 12. The 
third village of natives was on Isla Taboya [Taboga], 4 leagues 
south of the city, with but 12 inhabitants, who were very poor 
hke those of del Rey. None of these Indians paid tribute, and 
all spoke the Spanish language, having entirely forgotten their 
own. 

josos, principalmente cuando llueve mucho, que se adereza a costa de 
la ciudad, ensitio muy humedo y enfermo aunque proveido de caza 
en verano. Tiene la casa cuarenta y siete camaras, en que se encierran 
todas las mercaderias en poder de un Alcaide, que la ciudad tiene 
puesto alii con cuatrocientos pesos de plata de salario y buenas 
fianzas, al cual se entregan las mercaderias y el las vuelve a sus 
duefios per cuenta y razon, y se asienta en un libro que para ello tiene ; 
asi mismo tiene por propios otra venta que llaman de Chagre, que esta 
junto a el camino de Panama al Nombre de Dios, seis leguas de 
Panama y doce del Nombre de Dios, y cuatro de la Quebrada, y tres 
del rio Pequefio." Velasco, pp. 344-5. 

Two hundred eighty-one 



EARLY DESCRIPTIONS 

The climate (tempcramcnto) of Panama was calid, and the 
temperature always hot. From the middle of December to the 
end of April was summer, when the brisas blew, tempering the 
heat. The rest of the year was winter, with continuous rains 
and hot southerly winds. The region was sickly, the most fre- 
quent diseases being fevers, the most dangerous of which were 
child-bed fevers and spasms, which there were called colds. 

The people planted corn, rice, and beans (frisoles) ; harvest- 
ing 50,000 bushels of the first. The maiz was planted with the 
first rains of May; and the second year it was planted in the 
same ground, not producing as in the first year, this being 
called maiz de rastrojo [stubble-corn], returning a hundred 
for one. The rice was planted on the edge of marshes and 
gave a greater return. They did not sow wheat or barley be- 
cause they had no grain. Nearly all the vegetables and fruits 
of Spain were raised, and they did well. 

"The best fruit of the land is the plantain, of which there is 
plenty. It is eaten raw, roasted, boiled and fricassee, and a 
drink is made of it. It is a large plant, though its stalk only 
lasts one year." Guayavas, afiones, aguacates, and mameyes 
abounded. 

The edible roots were, "yucas, name, oto, gengihre" 
[ginger]. 

From Peru were brought flour, sugar, cane-syrup, conserves, 
chick-peas, the large beans which in Peru were called pallares, 
starch, olive-oil, jarcia, alpargates, and soap. From Buena- 
ventura came sugar, though not so good as the Peruvian, con- 
serves and pita.^ 

^At this time in Panama, the prices were as follows: 

Flour 10-20 reales per arroba (25 lbs.) 

Sugar 4 pesos per arroba 

Salt 4 reales per arroba 

Soap 4 pesos per arroba 

Beef 2^ reales per arroba 

Veal 5 reales per arroba 

Maiz 10-20 reales per fanega (bushel) 

Chick-peas 8 pesos per fanega 

Beans 6 pesos per fanega 

Cane-syrup 3 pesos per botija (jar) 

Starch 4 pesos per botija 

Olive-oil 4 pesos per botija 

Wine '12 pesos per botija 

Conserves 3 reales per libra (pound) 

Pita 8 pesos per libra 

jircia 25 pesos per quintal (100 lbs.) 

Alpargates 3 pesos per docena (dozen) 

Bread ^ real per 12 ounces 

Plantains i real per ten 

Guayavas i real per twenty 

Afiones i real per four 

Aguacates and mameyes i real per two or three 

Two hundred eighty-iwo 



OF VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

There were plenty of cattle, and beef and veal were cut up 
from Pascua to San Juan [Easter to June 24th]. In Lent 
only the veal was eaten, when it rose to 8 reales the arroba. A 
cow en partida was worth 20 reales; while a lechon brought 
from 8 to 12 pesos. Many calves died from a maggot in the 
navel. The people raised no sheep nor goats, because the 
temperature would not admit. They had horses, mares, and 
some mules from Nata and Pueblo Nuevo. 

Bread sold for different prices, according to the value of 
flour; usually 12 ounces for half a real. Corn brought from 
10 to 20 reales a fanega. No sugar was manufactured, but 
there were three mills (trapiches de miel) which produced as 
much as 12,000 jars of syrup a year. Two kinds of cotton- 
trees were found, the small and large. There was much hunt- 
ing. The roe-deer and fallow-deer were hke those of Spain, 
and the flesh good; rabbits somewhat different from those of 
Spain. Inthe jungle were found the tapir {vaca de monte), 
and wild pigs of two kinds, puercos de manada which went in 
droves, and puercos hahinos that traveled singly. 

No vineyards were planted, except some on walls, as the ants 
destroyed them. No wine was brought from Peru because it 
was discovered to be unhealthy. The wine and other things 
came from Spain. A jar of wine sold for 12 pesos. Five 
species of vipers were encountered, and all poisonous. They 
possessed six reflected fangs, and the head resembled a gra- 
nada. When bitten, the remedy was the juice of the root and 
leaves of hinojo macho [male fennel] drunken, and the bruised 
herb applied to the bite. In the country were spiders as large 
as the palm of the hand. For the poison, the wound was 
scarified and cupped, and the previous remedy used. 

In the province of Panama were gold mines, but they were 
not worked, as the expense was greater than the returns. In 
Veragua and in Code some gold was mined.^ 

Another description of the Isthmus, issued sixty years after the 
settlementof Darien, expresses ignorance of the location of Ada,' 
one of the firs t towns founded by Spaniards on the north coast. 

* The Spaniards soon robbed the natives of all their gold ; and after 
the destruction of the Indians, Africans were imported to work the 
mines, which were neither plentiful nor productive. As early as 1533, 
the new governor of Castilla del Oro, Francisco de Barrionuevo, wrote 
to the Emperor, — "que no coge ombre oro en todo esta Tierra, salvo 
Dona Catalina, muger de Pedro de los Rios, que coge oro con siete 
6 ocho yndios." 

^"En algunas cartas de geographicas esta descrita la poblacion de 
Acle, en la costa de la mar del Norte y entrada del Golfo de Urana 
[Uraba], en f rente de la Isla de Pinos, de que al presente no ay 
memoria." Col. de Doc. lued., tomo XV. pag. 474. 

"En las cartas de Santa Cruz se halla un pueblo que parece haber 

Two hundred eighty-three • 



BARLY DESCRIPTIONS 

The city of Conception on the north coast of Veragua was 
40 leagues west of Nombre de Dios. La Villa de Trinidad 
was 6 leagues east of Conception by way of the sea (for one 
could not go by land), and 3 leagues from the sea, near the 
rio de Belen. It contained 30 Spaniards, who were miners. 
To the south of Conception, 12 leagues, was the city of Sancta 
Fee, with 30 inhabitants and a smelter. Close to the coast of 
the South Sea, 40 or 50 leagues from Santa Fe, to the west, 
was La Ciiidad de Carlos, a city of 25 or 30 Spaniards. 

The Bay of Zarabaco, or San Hieronimo, was on the coast 
of the North Sea and the boundaries of Veragua; to the east of 
which were the rivers of Trinidad, Conception, and Belen, in 
front of which was the island Escudo. Farther on was the rio 
de Chagre, to the east of which one league was el Portete. 

The next place on the east was Puertos de Langostas, 12 
leagues from Nombre de Dios; then Gallinas, 9 leagues from 
Nombre de Dios ; and Buena Ventura, 6 leagues from Nombre 
de Dios. Puerto Belo, 5 leagues from Nombre de Dios, had in 
front of it the islands called Miras \islas de las Miras — the 
Lookouts, or Pointers] . Then the islands Bastimentos ; and 
passing Nombre de Dios, 2 leagues east, was the rio de Sar- 
dinilla ; and at 4 leagues, the river of Sardinas. Eastward 
were the rivers Maiz, Culebras, and Francisco at 8 leagues. 

At the entrance of the Gulf of Urana [Uraba] was the point 
and island of Catina, in front of the mountains of Sant Bias, 
and the island of Comagre and the island of Pinos farther 
inward. Within the gulf was Puerto de Nilcos near the mouth 
of rio del Darien, which separated the Audiencia of Panama 
from the government of Cartagena. 

Juan Lopez de Velasco, Cosmografo-cronista de Indias, writ- 
ing about 1574, describes Veragua as containing four pueblos, 
three ciudades, one villa, and a mining camp (asiento) ; in all, 
190 to 200 Spaniards, all settlers, merchants and traders, be- 
cause there were no Indians in repartimiento, and the few 
remaining in the land were rebellious and warlike. 

All that region was ballasted with fine gold, which was found 

sido de espanoles, en la costa del Nombre de Dios, que se llama Ada, 
del cual no se sabe mas." Velasco, pag. 347. 

About the time Oviedo left the Isthmus, Ada was the largest settle- 
ment of Europeans in Castilla del Oro. From there went Balboa by- 
land to look for the South Sea. "Ada era mayor pueblo que ningun 
de los ques dicho, e despues se ha disminuendo, y el puerto no es 
muy bueno; pero hay ancones e isletas de seguros puertos. £ desde 
alii fue por tierra a descubrir la mar del Sur el adelando Vasco Nunez 
de Balboa, quando la descubrio."— Ca/). XXVII., Lib. XXIX. 

Two hundred eighty-four 



OP VBRAGU A AND PANAMA 

wherever the ground was dug up, as well as in the rivers, and 
gullies.' On the north coast the Rio de Code, or Lagartos/ 
7 leagues west of the Belen, separated Veragua from the prov- 
ince of Nombre de Dios; and the Rio de la Bstrella, which 
flowed into the archipielago or gulf of Carabaro, from Costa- 
Rica on the west. On the South Sea, the rio de Gatu, 8 leagues 
west of Natan [Nata], divided the provinces of Panama and 
Veragua. The boundary' with Costa-Rica on the south was 
uncertain, but somewhere beyond the city of Carlos, 40 to 50 
leagues west of the said river of Gatu. Velasco says the rio 
Chagre was 18 leagues from Nombre de Dios. Bl Portete was 
17 leagues from Nombre de Dios, and 4 leagues west of Puerto 
de Langostas. He states there were four Indian villages in the 
district of Nata, and names Cubita, Parela, and Puerto de 
Caldera. 

The city of the Conception, on the north coast of Veragua, 
was founded by Francisco Vazquez, citizen of Nata, in 1557 or 
8, being governor of that province. The houses were con- 
structed of boards and split trees, covered with palm leaves. 
There was no port other than the bar of the river. In a plain 
by the seashore, near the river Conception, was a tiro de 
arcahus. At Conception resided the Governor and other offi- 
cials, as well as a Cura and Vicario assigned there by the 
Bishop. Canoes and sloops could go up the Conception ( or 
rio de Yeragua) river two leagues and no more. 

Trinidad, on the Rio Belen, 3 leagues east of Conception, 
was settled by Alonso de Contreras, alcalde mayor of Veragua, 
by commission of the Audiencia of Panama, in the year 1566 
{ano de 66) ; so named because on that day he began the settle- 

* "Es la tierra toda lastrada de oro, que se halla en cualquiera parte 
della que se cave hasta un estado, y cada negro saca por lo menos un 
peso cada dia; y en todos los rios y quebradas se hallan buenas minas 
y nacimientos dello, y el oro llega a la ley, sino es en la Trinidad, y el 
rio de Belen, que esta sobre plata y es algo mas baxo." 

' At this period, at least, the Chagres was not called the river of 
Alligators. 

* The boundary between Panama and Costa Rica has been in dispute 
by the white men since the first settlement by Christians. The last 
agreement, so-called, was in 1907, as stated at the end of Chapter I. 
This year, 1910, the controversy has been reopened, and by protocol 
signed at Washington, the question has been referred for arbitration 
to Chief Justice M. W. Fuller, U. S. Supreme Court. 

At one time, Costa Rica claimed that her territory extended east- 
ward to a straight line running from the eastern point of the island 
Escudo to Punta Burica on the south. Fernandez gives many papers 
bearing upon this boundary. 

T-lZ'o hundred eighty-five 



EARLY DESCRIPTION S 

ment. In the nearby streams was much gold {"hay mucho oro 
junto a ella en rios y quebradas"). 

The location of the Conception mines ("El asiento de 
Minas de la Concepcion") was 3 leagues up the Conception, or 
Veragua, river, where the Spanish residents of the city of 
Conception worked their slaves, each negro mining not less than 
one peso each day. Between the mines and Santa Fe were two 
very high mountains, the one called Don Baltasar and the other 
Bejuco, each having five leagues of ascent and descent. 

The city of Santa Fe, 12 leagues from Conception and 12 
leagues from Nata, was founded by the governor, Francisco 
Vazquez. At that time it contained 30 citizens, and the houses 
were made of mud and adobe. 

The city of Carlos on the south coast had been established 
by Alonso Vazquez, son of the governor, who called it Carlos 
in devotion to Don Carlos, Prince of Castile. It was a hot 
place, but possessed 25 or 30 inhabitants, as there was much 
gold thereabouts, though but little was collected on account of 
the poverty of the Spaniards. 

In the Archives of the Indies are found numerous accounts of 
Veragua and Panama " by the president and officials of the royal 
Audiencia, the bishop of Panama, and by missionary friars. 

Francisco Vazquez, first governor of Veragua under the 
Crown, was succeeded at his death by Don Rafael de Figue- 
rola. In 1574, Pedro Godines Osorio was governor of the 
province of veragua; and in 1595, Ynigo de Aran?a. In 1603, 
Captain Juan Lopez de Sigueyra was governor and captain- 
general of Veragua, Code, Duy, and Guaymi. Near the river 

' One of these accounts, written when Don Alonso de Sotomayor 
was Governor and Captain General of Tierra Firme and President of 
the Audiencia Real, relates that the officials of the city of Panama 
met and petitioned the king, that whereas, the intemperateness of the 
heat and humidity were well known, people resided there with risk, 
and many had departed to live elsewhere. They mention many grave 
diseases which lately had arisen, such as esquirrencia, small-pox, mea- 
sles, pains in the side, abscesses, granos, burning fevers, all acute 
diseases of which a great number of persons had died. The doctors 
sought the cause of these new diseases and found them due almost 
always to the wine brought from Peru. So the Peruvian wine was 
prohibited, as it also caused "muchas calenturas ardientes y podridas, 
muchos dolores de costado, cameras de sangre, romadicos, y otras 
yndisposiciones de calor y humedad, por ser esta tierra muy caliente y 
humeda, por el discurso todo el ano, y por serlo tambien el bino del 
Peru muy caliente y humedo." They ended by praying His Majesty 
to send them some wine from Spain. 

Colec. de Doc. Ined. tomo XXI., pag. 65. 

Two hundred eighty-six 



OP VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

Guaymi was the city of Artieda del Nuevo Reyno de Navarra. 
We are told that the town of Philipina was settled by Alonso 
Vaca, governor of Veragua. 

In 1605, the bishop of Panama describes four Spanish towns 
in the province of Veragua: Alanje, Remedios, Montijo, and 
Santa Fe. Santiago del Alhange, which for another name was 
called Chiriqui, was situated on the confines of Nicaragua. It 
had been founded in the year 1591 by Captain Pedro de Mon- 
tilla Anasco, maestre de campo, whom all feared. Nuestra 
Sefiora de los Remedios, called Pueblo Nuevo, was settled in 
1589. San Pedro del Montijo was founded by Pedro Fernan- 
dez Cortes under commission from Goncalo Gomez de la 
Camara, who was governor of that province. 

The Indians about these settlements were reduced to sub- 
mission, located conveniently in villages, and divided among the 
Spanish encomenderos. In the limits of Nata were the native 
settlements Penonome and Ola. Near Santos was Paria. La 
Atalaya was a pueblo of free Indians alongside Montijo. 
Under charge of Remedios were two villages of natives, San 
Felix and Santiago (or Guavala). 

A memorial on Chiriqui states that Presidente D. Francisco 
Valverde y Mercado of the Audiencia sent P. Presentado F. 
Melchor Hernandez, in July 1606, to reduce to subjection some 
indigines in the vicinity of Santiago de Alange, in Veragua. 
With the aid of Cristobal Cacho Santillana, the Padre rounded 
up 626 Indians of all sexes (de todos sextos), placing them in 
two towns which he founded, San Pablo del Plantanar and San 
Pedro de Aspatara, the one 2 and the other 6 leagues from 
Alange. He found six distinct tongues among these natives, 
and started in to make a vocabulary of the most common, 
when interrupted by a pestilence of measles. After 350 
had perished, the remaining Indians thought they had enough 
of the Christians, and took to the hills. The cleric was not 
discouraged, however. He would save their eternal souls if it 
took the lives of all the redskins on the Isthmus; so begged 
license to go in the cordillera of Chiriqui, where were the fol- 
lowing tribes — Cothos, Borisques, Dorasques, Utelaes, Buga- 
baes, Zunes, Dolegas, Zaribas, Dures, and others. 

Another account, dated 1607, mentions but one Indian village 
near Alanje, that of San Pablo del Platanal. A report, in 
1620, locates a Spanish city, called Nuestra Seitora de las 
P almas, 18 leagues from "Concepcion de Veragua la antigua." 
The Indians about Chiriqui were the Doraces, Suries, Quere- 
balos, Dolegas, and Sagiras. "These Doraces are opponents of 

T'jvn hundred eighty-seven 



BARLY DESCRIPTION 

the Gnaymies and of almost all the other Indians named, with 
whom they border upon and carry on war." 

The city of Nueva Lishoa in the province of Code was 
founded by the governor of Veragua, Juan Lopez de Heguera. 

A report, dated 1607, states that the city of San Felipe de 
Puertovelo was founded the 20th of March, 1597, by D. Fran- 
cisco de Valverde y Mercado, factor of New Spain [Mexico] 
and one of the comisarios. The population was moved from 
Nombre de Dios, five leagues distant. Puertobelo possessed 
the title of city by provision of Valladolid, 23rd of November, 
1537, given to Nombre de Dios when first established. The 
coat of arms of Nombre de Dios, granted 7th of December, 
1537, was a castle and ship, bordered with this inscription: 
"Tierra Firme, hrenas de oro." The causes of the poverty 
of Puertovelo were three: The burning of Nombre de Dios, 
13th of August, 1596, by the English; the change of the popu- 
lace; the sack of Puertovelo, i6th of February, 1601, by the 
Englishman, Guillermo Parque [William Parker]. According 
to the writer of this report, Porto Bello was first discovered 
and named by Diego de Nicuesa, in 1509; and in 15 18, Diego 
de Albites attempted a settlement here. 

Puertovelo was built in the form of a half -moon, with the 
points to the east and west, and the bulk of the town between 
the sea and the skirt of a mountain. From the castle of 
Santiago, two streets ran to the middle of the city and the 
first square, called the Plaza de la Mar. From this plaza ran 
a street over a bridge to another plaza, a distance of 100 paces ; 
and from the second plaza the street went out of the city, being 
crossed by others from side to side ; so that the entire city was 
included within 500 geometric paces. From the bridge, over a 
creek of water descending from the mountain, ran two side- 
walks with houses up the gully ; and at the end commenced 
the barrio, or district of the town, called Guinea, where lived 
the free negroes {negros horros). There were in all 50 houses, 
without counting the suburbs, a cathedral {iglesia mayor), the 
convent of mercy, a hospital, the king's houses on the plaza 
and quay, and the houses of the city government {cahildo) on 
the other plaza. Most of the houses were constructed of wood, 
their pillars on bases of stone, and the partitions and walls 
of boards. Some were of two-stories, with many windows, 
and roofs of tile; besides ware-houses. A few were of stone 
and brick, and these were held to be more healthy than the 
wooden ones. 

Two hundred eighiy-eight 



OF VBRAGU A AND PANAMA 

Puertovelo had four suburbs : the first called Triana, where 
lived the slaves of the King and poor Spaniards ; second, that 
of Merced; third, Guinea; and fourth, the section by the 
Shambles. These contained 30 or 40 houses made of straw, 
with walls of canes (canas bravas), covered with palm. In 
the suburbs were two acequias, and another in the centre of 
the town. There were some small gardens and plantations. 
The city was entirely inclosed by woods green all the year. 
From the brokers the city received yearly 2,000 ducats; and 
two reales for each head of cattle killed in the Shambles; 
besides two pesos for each negro brought in, which amounted 
to 1500 pesos, which was expended in cutting brush and 
repairing highways and roads. 

Puertovelo bordered with the sea on the north, Cartagena 
on the east, and on the west with the provinces of Code and 
Veragua. Its jurisdiction extended 50 leagues east to the 
hostile Indians of Uraba, south for 9 leagues, and west 12 
leagues to the mouth of the Chagre, where it joined with 
Nueva Lisboa in the province of Code. Half the distance to 
Panama, 9 leagues, was unsettled, save some buhios. To 
Cartagena by sea was 80 leagues, and 150 by land, which no 
one ever traveled. "The temperature is hot. The winds, from 
January to San Juan, brisas somewhat fresh, but unhealthy on 
account of being moist. From San Juan to January, strong 
southwest winds drier, hotter, but more healthy. It is very 
humid because it rains almost all the year, and for this reason 
is a land very sickly with quartan and tertian fevers, and 
hemorrhages of labor which are of greater risk." 

A thousand paces from the city emptied the Puertovelo 
river, a small stream which could be ascended a league in 
canoes. Another river, called Dominica, arose in the same 
valley and discharged in the port. There were twenty-four 
other rivers on the coast, none navigable but the Chagre, which 
in winter could be ascended to within 6 leagues of Panama. 
There were no farms nor cattle-ranches, except three: one on 
an islet they called Juan Salguero, half a league to the west 
of the port; another two leagues east in an island called 
Bastimentos; and another two leagues up the Chagre, "in 
Tierra Firme." 

About Porto Bello were a few goats, which did well. 
Among the wild animals and birds were the oropendolas, which 
made their nests with remarkable craft suspended from the 
branches of the trees, to protect their young from the monkeys 
and snakes. There were puercos cahinos, which always travel 
male and female; and puercos de manada, which go in num- 

Two hundred eighty-nine 



EARLY DESCRIPTIONS 

bers under a captain, which is the leanest of them all. Then, 
there was that interesting creature, the sloth. "He who eats 
the flesh of the perico ligero, dies of it; because it is so 
phlegmatic." The lassitude of this animal was believed to be 
due to heart-disease, which it attempted to cure by scratching 
over the region of the heart with the claw of the left hand, 
"and thus this claw is the approved remedy against this evil." 

Among poisonous herbs was the manzanilla, "which is like 
little apples, and he who eats them dies without remedy: the 
vine makes a milk which produces sores when touched, and 
if drunken, it kills." 

Porto Bello was considered the best harbour in all the 
Indies {"Bl puerto es el mejor, mas limpio, capas y seguro 
de todas las Indias"). From east to west, it furnished an 
anchoring-place 3000 yards in extent, its entrance and width 
being from 1500 to 1800 yards. The depth of water in 
front of the first castle (Santiago) was 17 fathoms ; and before 
the second 7^ fathoms, which was where the armadas and 
fleets anchored; the frigates and barks going farther in, near 
the city. The bottom was bad, there being many borers 
{hroma). The port would contain 300 galleons and 1000 
small vessels, besides room for 2,000 ships outside the forts. 

The place was protected by the natural formation of the 
land, and by two castles. San Felipe was at the foot of a 
very high hill, a projection of which terminated at the castle. 
Farther out was the castle called Santiago del Principe, at 
the end of a ridge coming down from a hill prolonged along 
the port. For the ramparts, it was found that the best stone 
was the reef-rock," found under the water all along the coast, 
because it was soft to work and almost as light as pumice- 
stone. After being fashioned and placed, the sun, wind, and 
water in a short time hardened it much, but left the stone of 
such quality that no ball, however large it might be, made any 
effect on it, because it checked the missile without splitting 
or chipping. This stone was bound and joined with a red- 
dish clay and lime, which made a mixture as strong as the 
stone itself. The castle of Santiago was constructed entirely 
of the stone from the reefs. 

"The old Spanish masonry still attests the excellence of this stone 
and their method of working it. After Admiral Vernon had captured 
Puerto Bello, in 1739, he had great difficulty in demolishing the castles, 
especially the Iron Fort, which was built on a rock. "The Walls of the 
Lower Battery, consisting of 22 Guns, were nine foot thick, and of a 
hard Stone, cemented with fuch fine Mortar, that it was a long Work 
to make any Impression in it to come to Mine at all, so that the 
blowing up took in all fixteen or eighteen Days." 

Two hundred ninety 



OF VBRAGUA AND PANAMA 

Half a league from Puerto velo was a shallow lagoon of 
clear water, full of fish, which opened into the sea a quarter 
of a league from the port. They crossed this laguna in 
canoes and small vessels to get to a settlement on the other 
side, called Santiago del Principe, where were located the 
pacified negros cimarrones. Some years before, the runaway 
slaves from Nombre de Dios and Panama gathered in Ballano, 
from whence they sallied out to rob the camino real. The 
inhabitants of Panama took up arms against the blacks, and 
carried on a war which cost many lives and much money. The 
King of Spam, by cedula of 21st of June, 1574, declared the 
fugitives should be free if they ceased warring against the 
Spaniards. A few years later, by the capitulation of Panama, 
the 20th of September, 1579, the Cimarrones agreed to become 
peaceful, and to reduce to subjection any other negroes who 
should take to a wild life. The Cimarrones then gathered in 
a settlement, two leagues from the city of Old Panama ; after- 
wards they were ordered to a site near Nombre de Dios, and 
when that city was moved to Puertovelo, these blacks, 200 in 
number, were again changed to Santiago del Principe. 

Forty vessels were engaged in the ordinary commerce of 
Puertovelo, and a fleet of thirty barges in the navigation of 
the Chagre. The fort of San Lorenzo" is in the mouth of 
the river of Chagre, on the left-hand bank as you enter the 
river, where breaks the sea at the foot of a high and com- 
manding cliff. 

" "El fuerte de San Lorenzo esta en la boca del rio de Chagre, a su 
entrada, a mano izquierda, orilla del rio, al embate de la mar, al pie de 
un morro que le es eminente y padrasto." The original is given as a 
sample of errors which might arise from a too literal translation of the 
old Spanish by one unfamiliar with the region. 

"Jamas ha habido en Costa-Rica ciudad alguna con el nombre 
de Estrella. La primera poblacion de Espanoles, fundada en 1537 
por Felipe Gutierrez, en territorio que entonces se llamaba Vera- 
gua y despues Costa-Rica, fue la ciudad de la Concepcion, probable- 
mente a orillas del rio que mas tarde se llamo Estrella, que hoy se 
conoce con el nombre de Changuenola y Tilorio [V. la nota a p. 
152, Tomo I.] La segunda problacion fue la que, en el ano de 1545, 
Diego Gutierrez fundo a orillas del rio Suerre, hoy Reventazon, con 
el nombre de Nueva-Cartago y Costa-Rica, en territorio tambien 
entonces de Veragua y hoy de Costa-Rica [V. la misma nota]. 
La tercera fue la villa de Landecho, despues llamada ciudad del 
Espiritu Santo y Esparza, fundada en 1560 por el conquistador 
Licdo. Juan Cavallon [V. la nota a p. 181, Tomo i.]. La cuarta 
fue la villa del Castillo de Garci-Mufioz, despues ciudad de Cartago, 
fundada en el mismo ano por el mismo Cavallon. La quinta pobla- 
cion fue la villa del Castillo de Austria, fundada en el mismo ano 
por el Clerigo Juan de Estrada, a nombre del conquistador Caval- 

Two hundred ninety-one 



EARLY DBSCRIPTIONS 

Ion, en la bahia de San Geronimo [bahia del Almirante y tambien 
bahia de Zorobaro], no lejos de las bocas del Drago [a. p. i8i, 
Tomo I.] La sesta fue la ciudad de Aranjuez, a orillas del rio del 
mismo nombre entre los anos 1562 y 1563 [Tomo i. p. 192]. La 
setima fue la ciudad del Nombre de Jesus, fundada hacia 1570 por el 
gobernador Perafan de Ribera, en el valle del Guaimie, entre la costa 
de la bahia del Almirante y el rio Estrella [Changuenola y Tilorio]. 
La octava fue la ciudad de Artieda, fundada a fines de 1577 por el 
gobernador Diego de Artieda Cherinos, a orillas del rio Guaimie, 
dentro y en la costa de la bahia del Almirante y no lejos de las bocas 
del Drago. La novena fue la ciudad de Santiago de Talamanca, 
fundada hacia 1604, por el gobernador Don Juan de Ocon y Trillo, 
a orillas del rio Tarire, llamado hoy Sixaula. 

No hubo, pues, ciudad, villa, ni poblacion alguna en Costa-Rica que 
se llamara Estrella. Este nombre fue dado por Don Juan Vasquez de 
Coronado a un rio, y no a poblacion alguna." 

Doc. para la Hist, de Costa Rica, tomo 11, pag. 28, por El Lie. Don 
Leon Fernandez. 



Two hundred ninety-two 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE SEARCH FOR A STRAIT 

AND 
EARLY EFFORTS FOR A CANAL. 



"Westward they steered their tiny bark, 

Westward through weary weeks they sped. 
Till the cold gray strand of a stranger-land 
Ivoomed through the mist ahead. 
League after league they hugged the coast. 
And their Captain never left his post: 
'O Pilot, see you yet the strait that leads 

to the Eastern Sea? 
'I see but the rocks and the barren shore; 
No strait is there,' quoth he." 

Burton Egbert Stevenson. 

HRISTOPHER COLUMBUS sailed from 
Spain to find a route to the East by- 
steering to the west. Having discovered, as 
he thought, the out-lying islands and part of 
the continent of Asia, Columbus started out 
on his fourth and last voyage with the par- 
ticular object of finding a strait through or 
around Tierra Firme, which should lead him 
to the Spice Islands, and the domains of the 
Grand Khan of Tartary. While discovering 
southward along Central America, the natives 
informed him of another sea, and when he 
appeared to be approaching a passage to it, in the region of 
Punta Mosquitos, the worm-eaten condition of his two remain- 
ing vessels compelled the old Admiraf to turn from the Isthmus 
and sail towards Hispaniola. Columbus died without realizing 
that he had come upon a great continent distinct from Asia, 
and separated from it by another immense ocean. 

The followers of Columbus, like himself, believed that a 




^ "He had been in pursuit of a chimera of a splendid imagination and 
a penetrating judgment. If he was disappointed in his expectation of 
findmg a strait through the Isthmus of Darien, it was because nature 
herself was disappointed. For she appears to have attempted to make 
one, but to have attempted in vain." — Washington Irving. 

Two hundred ninety-three 



THB SEARCH 

strait must exist. Juan de la Cosa explored the Gulf of 
Uraba; and Vicente Yanez Pinzon looked for it in vain from 
the Amazon to Florida. Juan de Solis was seeking a strait, 
in 1 5 14, when killed by natives in the Rio de la Plata." The 
Cabots tried to beat the Spaniards to China and India by 
searching, in 1497, for an opening farther north, from New- 
foundland to Florida. In 1500, the Cortereal brothers fol- 
lowed in this region, losing their lives in the vain quest for a 
strait. By 1504, Basque, Breton, and Norman fishermen 
sailed to New-Found-Land, and caught fish called, in the 
Basque tongue, baccalaos (cod). 

The narrow strip of land, between the two oceans, at Panama 
seemed to indicate that a passage undoubtedly existed in that 
region. A few of the very early charts, as the mappemonde 
of Waldseemiiller in 1507, the John Ruysch map in 1508, 
Schoner's map of 1515, and the Lenox globe, actually depict 
the so-called "Straits of Panama." A few years later, some 
maps show a passage at the isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

In the year 1524, Giovanni de Verrazanno, a Florentine, 
under the patronage of Francis I. sailed in the ship Dauphin e 
to attempt to pass through America into the Eastern ocean 
of India, and reach Cathay on the extreme shore of Asia. 
He sailed southward, and then turned north along the American 
coast. One night, Verrazanno passed the entrance to Chesa- 
peake Bay without seeing it; but the next day he made a 
landing, and marching inland, discovered a large body of 
salt water, which he believed to be the Indian ocean. Return- 
ing to his ship, Verrazanno sought northward for an opening 
into the other sea he had found. For a time, the Chesapeake 
Bay was known as the Mare de Verrazano. Hakluyt says 
that the strip of land (the Eastern Shore of Maryland) crossed 
by Verrazanno is "much like the stre5^te necke or isthmus of 
Dariena." 

Estevan Gomez — he who had deserted Magellan in the strait 
in 1520, and returned to Spain in one of that commander's 
vessels — sailed in a caravel from Coruiia, Spain, in 1525, to 

^ Solis sailed into the bi'oad estuary of the Plata, and, finding the 
water fresh, called it the Mar Dulce. With seven of his men, Solis 
made a landing; when they were attacked by a multitude of natives, 
and beaten to death. The Indians then cut up the bodies, in view of 
the ships, and prepared to eat them. "Their companions being stricken 
with fear through this exainple, durst not come fourth of their 
shippes or devise how to revenge the deaths of their Captayne and com- 
panions. They departed therefore from the unfortunate coastes, and by 
the way lading their shyppes with Brasell, returned home agayne with 
loss, and havie cheare." 

Tzvo hundred nincty-jcur 



FOR A STRAIT 

hunt in Terranova, or land of the Baccalaos, for a passage 
which would permit a shorter route to the Spiceries. Like all 
his predecessors, Gomez found no strait, so kidnapped all the 
Indians his vessel would hold, said to have been in violation 
of the law and wish of the king, and within ten months was 
back in Corufia. A citizen hearing that the pilot had returned 
with his ship full of esclavos (slaves), misunderstood the 
report, and hurried off to the court with the news that Gomez 
had brought back a cargo of clavos (cloves), and that conse- 
quently the strait had been found. Instead of the expected 
reward, the too eager informant received nothing but a laugh. 

In 1534, King Francis sent out Jacques Car tier on his first 
voyage, who went to the land of Corterealis, and looked for 
a passage in the St. Lawrence river. Later on, Cartier made 
a voyage under Sieur de Roberval; and was followed by 
Saintonge, Thevet, Jean Ribaut, Rene de Laudonniere, and 
others; who confined their explorations to the north, as the 
Spaniards already possessed the territory to the south. 

In 1553, Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancelor, for 
the Muscovy Company, attempted an eastern passage to Asia 
by the north of Europe, losing their lives on the voyage. The 
English then abandoned the northeast passage, and followed 
the French voyageurs to the northwest — Master Robert Thorne 
and Roger Barlow in 1526; Sir Martin Frobisher, in 1576; 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1583; Captain John Davis, in 1585. 

The quest for a strait continued into the seventeenth cen- 
tury. The Virginia colonists, of 1607, were directed to seek 
a communication with the Pacific ocean by following up some 
stream which flowed from the northwest; and it is claimed 
that Captain John Smith was on this mission when he ascended 
the Chickahominy river, and was captured by the Indians. 
Henry Hudson explored to the north, east, and west; and 
was looking for a strait when, in 1609, he sailed into the river 
which now bears his name. Captain Hudson, too, lost his 
Hfe in the frozen north, but in 1612, we find James Hall and 
WilHam Baffin entering the list of strait-seekers. 

It is true that Ferdinand Magellan, as early as 1520, found 
a passage at the southern extremity of the continent, which 
carried him into the South Sea ; but his strait was so near the 
south pole that everybody continued to believe there must be 
an opening near the middle of the New World. The con- 
figuration of Central America," with numerous indentations 

' Considered in a larger sense, geographically, geologically, politically, 
and to an extent ethnologically, the Isthmus of America comprises all 

Two hundred ninety-five 



THE SEARCH 

and narrow places ; and great rivers, having their headwaters 
in common, emptying into both North and South seas ; seemed 
to indicate that there, beyond a doubt, must be the long-sought 
strait. Soon after the region was conquered and settled by 
the Spaniards, they heard vague rumors of certain places 
where the Indians crossed in canoes from sea to sea during 
the rainy seasons. Even today in Central America, similar 
tales are occasionally narrated. 

In 1771, some bronze cannon in the castle of San Juan de 
Ulloa, Vera Cruz, were found to have been cast in the city of 
Manila, many years before. Research disclosed that they had 
been transported from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico by 
way of the Chimalapa and Coatzacoalcos rivers. This incident 
revived great interest in the isthmus of Tehuantepec. Alex- 
ander von Humboldt,* writing in 1808, gives credence to the 
story of the Raspadura canal, made, in 1788, by the Cura, or 
parish priest of Novita, between the headwaters of the Atrato 
and San Juan rivers. In 1852, the eminent engineer, J. L. 
Trautwine, proved this so-called canal to be a hill, over which 
the Indians dragged their canoes in the wet season. 

In 1820, a six-oared boat of the ChiHan war vessel Andes 
was haled from the Pacific to a navigable point on the Rio 
Napipi, in ten hours, whence it carried Colonel Caucino and 
his party to Quibdo or Citera, near the mouth of the Atrato 

of Central America, and extends from the valley of the Coatzacoalcos 
(Isthmus of Tehuantepec) to the Gulf of Uraba and the Atrato river. 

"The American isthmus, in the most extensive meaning, is about 
1,400 miles long, extending from the seventy-seventh to the ninety-fifth 
meridian of longitude, and from the eighth to eighteenth parallel of lati- 
tude. It embraces that portion of the Republic of Colombia which lies 
west of the Atrato River in South America, the whole of the five repub- 
lics which are grouped together as Central America, and so much of 
Mexico as lies east of Tehuantepec. The general direction of the 
isthmus is from southeast to northwest. For the eastern 600 miles the 
width of this isthmus is comparatively small, varying from a minimum 
of barely 30 miles to a maximum of 120 miles. It then widens to 300 
miles near the boundary between Nicaragua and Honduras, narrows to 
about 120 miles opposite the Bay of Honduras, widens again into the 
great peninsula of Yucatan, and finally narrows to 120 miles at 
Tehuantepec. A glance at a map indicates that the only possible routes 
for an interoceanic canal must be at Tehuantepec, at the Bay of Hon- 
duras, or within the eastern 600 miles." 

Report Isthmian Canal Commission, 1899-1901, p. 49. 

* Many great minds have concerned themselves with projects for a 
canal through the continent of America. Between the years 1799 and 
1804, Baron Humboldt visited Colornbia, Central America, and New 
Spain, and considered nine interoceanic routes : 

1. Missouri-Mississippi and Peace-Columbia rivers. 

2. Rio Bravo (Rio Grande del Norte) and the Rio Colorado. 

Two hundred ninety-six 



FOR A STRAIT 

river. In 1824, this boat was seen by Cochrane, while exam- 
ining the Darien region for a canal route, who reported the 
obstacles almost insurmountable. Captain Charles Friend, 
R. N., in 1827, crossed from the Atrato to Cupica Bay in 
four days. A little later, Major Alvarez, a Colombian officer, 
also explored this land for an easy pass. Monsieur De Puydt, 
in 1865, purported to have explored the headwaters of the 
Rio Tanela, which empties into the gulf of Uraba, and found 
the height of the pass but 47 meters above the sea. It is 
asserted that, at an early date, the Atrato route was recom- 
mended to the king of Spain as the proper site for a canal by 
a Biscayan pilot, Gogueneche by name. 

Domingo Lopez, a Colombian gentleman, early in the nine- 
teenth century, traced a line for a canal between Portobelo and 
Panama. The great liberator of South America, Simon 
Bolivar, was much interested in the project of a canal. Mr. 
Lloyd of his staff, with Capt. Falcmar, a Swede, made a 
reconnoissance of the Isthmus, and declared, in 1829, that a 
railway, if not a canal, was feasible between Chagres and 
Panama. Falcmar reported a difference of three feet between 
the tides of the two oceans. 

The grandiose scheme of William Paterson, in 1698, to 
established a colony of Scots on Caledonia Bay, and control 
the trade of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is presented m 
full in the last chapter of this book. 

During the past seventy-five years, so many surveys have 
been made of Darien, Panama, and Chiriqui, by different 
parties — notably by the United States — that they cannot be 
considered within the limits of this chapter. The reports of 
Capt. C. H. Davis, 1867, and of Capt. T. O. Selfridge, 1874, 
both of the U. S. Navy, well cover this period to their respect- 
ive dates. 

3. Tehuantepec-Coatzacoalcos river. 

4. San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua. 

5. Chagres River and from Cruces to Panama. 

6. Atrato and Napipi rivers. 

7. Ravine of Raspadura. 

8. Rio Callaga in Peru and headwaters of the Amazon. 

9. From the Gulf of St. George across Patagonia. 

Miranda's remarkable proposition, in 1797, for_ the independence of 
the Spanish-American colonies, contained a provision for a waterway 
between the Atlantic and Pacific, both at Panama and Nicaragua. 

Humboldt's writings on America inspired Goethe to predict, in 1827, 
that the young United States would spread westward to the Pacific 
coast, where important commercial cities would arise for the trade with 
China and the East Indies. "In such a case, it would be not only de- 
sirable but almost necessary that a more rapid communication should 

Tmo hundred ninety-seven 



THB SEARCH 

Dr. Edward Cullen, as late as 1853, affirmed the existence 
of a ravine through the Divide back of Caledonia Bay.° This 
natural passage, through v^hich the Indians transported their 
canoes, was but three leagues m length, and its highest eleva- 
tions did not exceed 150 feet. These absurd statements were 
endorsed by Lionel Gisborne, and were largely responsible for 
the deaths and suffering, in the following year, among the 
expeditions sent to explore this region by the United States, 
England, France, and Nueva Granada. 

be maintained between the Eastern and Western shores of North 
America, both by merchant ships and men-of-war, than has hitherto 
been possible with the tedious, disagreeable and expensive voyage 
around Cape Horn." 

When Thomas Jefiferson was in Paris, in 1788, he wrote in a letter — 
"With respect to the Isthmus of Panama, I am assured by Burgoine that 
a survey was made, and a canal appeared very practicable ; but the idea 
was suppressed for reasons altogether political. He has seen and 
minutely examined the report. This report is to me a vast desideratum, 
for reasons political and philosophical." 

The question of a canal through the American Isthmus has been con- 
sidered in several Presidential Messages, and during many sessions of 
our Congress. U. S. Grant, then a captain in the 4th U. S. Infantry, 
crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1852, at which time the regiment 
suffered with Asiatic cholera. In 1869, President Grant, in his first 
message, recommended that an American canal be constructed on 
American soil. 

° In later years, canal projectors returned to the old Darien-San 
Miguel route, first traversed by Balboa. Dr. CuUen affirms that he re- 
peatedly crossed and recrossed this region during the years 1849, '50, 
and '51 ! always alone, and always during the rainy season. When he 
entered the gulf of San Miguel and found the Rio Savana flowing from 
the north, he immediately determined that this was the place for the 
canal, which he pictures in his book as stretching straight to the north 
coast through a level country. Back of Caledonia Bay was a plain, two 
miles wide ; then a low divide, two miles in width ; after which came 
an immense plain extending thirteen miles to_ Canasas, a point about 
twenty miles above the mouth of the Savana river. 

In i860, A. Airiau made the same erroneous announcement concern- 
ing the Darien-San Miguel route. "With regard to the Cordillera, in 
proportion as it advances, proceeding from the base of the isthmus it 
descends a good deal, and is only, so to speak, a range of hills or iso- 
lated peaks, the bases of which are intersected by ravines which. point 
out to the engineer the true route of the canal. The Indians in the 
neighborhood of Caledonia Bay make use of these passages. One of 
them is elevated about fifty metres [164 feet] and is covered with a 
luxuriant growth of mahogany, palm, ebony, and other trees." 

Of this passage, Dampier wrote: "The Indians can do it in a day 
and a half bv which you may see how easy for a party of Men to 
travel over." Yet it took Dampier, with the other buccaneers, a week or 
longer to pass from the Caribbean to the Gulf of San Miguel. 

West of the Caledonia-San Miguel pass, closely approximating the 
79th meridian, is the San Bias, or Mandinga Bay— Rio Chepo route. 
Of this region, Lieut. Sullivan says : "It is the narrowest part of the 

Two hundred ninety-eight 



POR A STRAIT 

In 1 5 19, Captain Diego de Albites, acting under authority 
granted by the cabildo° at Antigua, resettled the deserted site 
of Nombre de Dios. The Spaniards on the north coast 
deserted Antigua and Ada, and moved to Nombre de Dios, 
which became enduringly established as the northern port of 
the Isthmus, exactly opposite Panama. The first desideratum 
was to improve the trail leading to the South Sea, or find a 
better and easier route over to Panama. 

It is commonly, but erroneously, stated that Charles V., in 
1520, ordered two Flemish engineers to survey the Isthmus 
of Panama for a canal between the two seas. The survey by 
the Flemings took place about fifty years later, during the 
reign of Philip, son of Charles V. In 1520, only one year 
after the establishment of Panama and Nombre de Dios, the 
young emperor, as well as everybody else, was seeking to dis- 
cover the secret of the strait^ — el secret del estrecho — or nat- 
ural waterway through Tierra Firme, which was to give the 
Spaniards a short route by the west to Cathay and the won- 
derful Spice Islands, barred to them on the east by the claims 
of Portugal. That such a passage or passages^ existed no one 
doubted. This belief is graphically pictured in the hazy maps 

American Isthmus, being only 30 miles from ocean to ocean. From the 
Atlantic to the head of Pacific tide the distance is only 19.5 miles." 
F. M. Kelley, of New York, after giving up the Atrato river route, ad- 
vised a canal at this place, which required a tunnel, however. 
_ In 1784, the viceroy of Nueva Granada ordered that forts be estab- 
lished at Caiman, Concepcion, Mandinga, and Calidonia Bay. The latter 
was also called Ft. Carolina. The next year. Lt. Col. D. Andres de Ari- 
za, Governor of Darien, built another fort at El Principe, garrisoned 
with 200 men. Ariza opened a road from here to the mouth of the Suc- 
ubti on the Chucunaque river, where he desired to found the city of Bet- 
anzo, as a central station for this region. By this same way, in 1788, 
Manuel Milla, adjutant of the post at Agla, was conducted by Capitan 
Suspani, a Sucubti chief. In 1790, by treaty between D. Bernardo de 
Estata and the Darien Indians, the Spaniards abandoned these forts, 
and the white man again retired from the eastern section of the Isthmus. 

^Not by order of Pedrarias, as stated by Andagoya. At this time the 
old governor had just moved over to Panama; he was not in accord 
with the cabildo at Antigua, and did not look favorably upon the settle- 
ment of another town which might rival Panama. 

' "The discovery of a strait into the Indian Ocean was the burden 
of every order from the government. The discovery of an Indian 
passage is the true key to the maritime movements of the fifteenth and 
the first half of the sixteenth centuries." — W. H. Prescott. 

* In the year i486, Bartolomeu Dias discovered the Cape of Good 
Hope; 1492, Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic and found the 
West Indies (America) ; 1497, the Cabots reached North America, 
and the next year Columbus arrived at South America ; 1498, Vasco 
da Gama rounded Cape of Good Hope and traversed the Indian Ocean 

Two hundred ninety-nine 



THB SEARCH 

of that time, and for years afterwards. Indeed, that same 
year, 1520, Fernao de Magalhaens, a Portuguese pilot in the 
service of Spain, did succeed in passing through the barrier of 
land in the West Indies, traversing the Pacific Ocean, and 
arriving at the Philippine Islands ; whence the remnants of his 
party succeeded in reaching Spain, thus completing the first 
circumnavigation of the globe." 

In this same year, 1520, Hernando Cortes, conqueror of 
Mexico, on information and a map furnished by Montezuma, 
explored the isthmus of Tehuantepec for a passage to the 
South Sea. In 1523, the energetic and progressive Charles V. 
ordered his governors in the Indies to hunt for the strait, or 
some water communication between the two seas. Cortes 
sent forty Spanish artisans to Zacatula,'" on the South Sea, 
there to construct two caravels and two brigantines, in which 
to search the Pacific coast for the strait."^ In 1524, when 
about completed, the cables, rigging, sails, pitch, and oakum, 
which had been laboriously transported overland from the 
gulf of Mexico, were consumed by fire; so Cortes had to 
send over new materials which he had procured in Castile. At 

to Calicut; 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa took possession of the 
Pacific; 1520, Magellan passed through his strait and reached the 
Philippine Islands; 1616, Le Maire and Van Schouten doubled Cape 
Horn, on the sixth circumnavigation of the world; 1851, Robert 
McClure discovered the north-west passage, going from Bering Sea to 
Baffin Bay; 1855, the Panama Railroad was finished; 1869, the Pacific 
Railway was completed, and the Suez Canal opened to traffic; 1879, 
Nordenskiold made the north-east passage, 326 years after Wil- 
loughby's attempt; 1906, Capt. Roald Amundsen sailed in his own 
vessel from Lancaster Strait to Bering Strait; April 6th, 1909, Capt. 
Robert E. Peary, U. S. Navy, reached the North Pole. 

"After Magellan was killed by the Filipinos — April 27th, 1521 — 
Juan Sebastian del Cano, who commanded one of the five vessels, 
succeeded the deposed Carabello as chief of the expedition. He 
reached the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, crossed the Indian ocean, 
doubled Cape Good Hope, and arrived back in Spain, Sept. 6th, 1522, 
with one ship, the famous Victoria. Del Cano was rewarded by the 
emperor, and granted a coat-of-arms with this motto — primus circuni- 
dedisti me. In 1525, he sailed with L,oaisa as second in command, and 
died of disease on August 4th, 1526, while in the Pacific ocean. 

"A small insecure port north of Acapulco. 

" "To these ships I attach an importance I am unable to express ; 
for I consider it certain that by means of them, if it please God our 
Lord, your imperial Majesty will become lord of more realms and 
states in these parts than there exists any knowledge of in our nation 
to the present time; and that if it please God to guide your Majesty 
to the attainment of this great object, I believe nothing more will be 
wanting to make your Highness monarch of the world." — Hernando 
Cortes, 4th Letter "to Charles V. 

Three hundred 



POR A STRAIT 

the same time this indomitable conqueror fitted out a naval 
armament, under the command of Cristobal Dolid (de Olid), 
to invade Hibueras (Honduras), and examine the Bay of 
Ascension" for a strait; and still another fleet to explore the 
Atlantic coast from Florida north to the Bacallaos ;" "because 
it is considered certain that there is a strait on that coast which 
leads into the South Sea." 

In 1522, Gil Gonzalez Davila, who followed Balboa in the 
South Sea, looked for the western opening of the strait. _ He 
discovered Lake Nicaragua, and finding that it emptied itself 
towards the North Sea, he believed that he had found a 
passage. Gil Gonzalez returned to Hispaniola, and, in 1524, 
sailed from Santo Domingo to hunt for the eastern outlet of 
the waters of Lake Nicaragua. The currents carried him 
north to Honduras, where he encountered Cristobal de Olid, 
also looking for the elusive strait. In 1529, while Pedrarias 
Davila was governor of Nicaragua, Martin Estete and Gabriel 
de Rojas explored down the valley of the Rio San Juan, and 
then marched up to Cape Gracias a Dios. It is affirmed that 
they recommended a canal around the falls of the San Juan, 
and another canal from the lake to the Pacific. In 1539, Gov- 
ernor Rodrigo de Contreras licensed Captain Diego Machuca 
and Captain Alonso Calero to examine, at their own cost, the 
same river. Machuca went by land on the left bank of the 
river, meeting with much opposition. He was compelled to 
eat all his horses, and returned to Nicaragua with the loss of 
many men ("con mucha falta de gente"). One of the rapids 
in the San Juan river yet bears the name of Machuca. Calero 
got through the rapids," passed out into the Caribbean, and 
sailed down the coast to Nombre de Dios ; where the party 
was arrested by Doctor Robles, governor of Castilla del Oro. 
Robles appreciated the value of this discovery, and fearing 
that isthmian traffic would be diverted from Panama, he sent 
Gonzales de Badajoz with a force to hold possession of the 
San Juan. The emperor, however, made him retire from 
that region. 

^ Bay of Honduras. 

^^ New Foundland, where European fishermen now went to catch 
codfish (haccalaos). 

" During the next century, we read of small sea-going craft ascend- 
ing and descending the San Juan river. They were probably haled 
over the rapids during favorable stages of the water. Seismic dis- 
turbances may have changed conditions in the river since that period. 

Upon reaching the Caribbean, Calero said — "Brothers, I know that 
we are in the sea of the North, and where better we shall be able 

Three hundred one 



THB SEARCH 

In 1526, Pedro de los Rios relieved Pedrarias as governor 
of Castilla del Oro. One of his first acts, in compliance with 
royal command, dated at Sevilla, 3rd of May, 1526, was to 
direct Captain Hernando de la Serna and a pilot named Corzo 
to explore the Rio de los Lagartos (Chagres River), the river 
of Panama, and the intermediate divide, with the object of 
fixing upon a better route for trans-isthmian travel. In 1527, 
they reported the Chagres^^ navigable for ships for a distance 
of twelve leagues inward from the sea of the north, and for 
canoes and flat-bottomed boats throughout the rest of its 
extent. The same Serna made another examination of the 
country between Panama and the river, with two councilmen 
of the city, and they judged that a good cart-road could be 
made over the nine leagues of land intervening between the 
South Sea and the place on the Chagres where the boats would 
load and discharge their cargoes. 

Under Governor Gama, who succeeded Rios in 1529, the 
Spaniards in Castilla del Oro continued to seek an easier way 
to pass from one sea to the other, and tending to settle on the 
Chagres river route. By royal cedula, dated at Medina del 
Campo the 12th of March, 1532, and attested by the Empress, 
La Gama was directed to clear obstructions from the Chagres, 
and render it navigable to the point nearest to the city of 
Panama; to open a road, passable for carts, from the city to 
the river; and on the two banks of the Chagres, to construct 
warehouses for the loading, unloading, and custody of the 
commodities in transit. The emperor Charles confirmed this 
cedula in Toledo, 20th of February, 1534, and also despatched 
another to the governor of Panama, in which he was com- 
manded to have experienced persons make careful examina- 
tion of the land between the Rio Chagre and the coast of the 
South Sea. He was to report the result, and propose the best 
and most opportune ways to effectuate communication between 
that sea and the limit of navigation in the Chagres, explaining 
the difficulties which presented themselves on account of the 
difference of the tides, as well as the inequality of the land; 

to travel, for in order to be able to save ourselves we have to go to 
Nombre de Dios, as I find that we are not eighty leagues from it; 
because in order to return by the Nicaragua [San Juan] river there 
are no arms which can row; to go by land, there are no feet that 
can_ walk." The narrative says that the Christians, and attendant 
Indians, arrived at Nombre de Dios "mas muertos que vivos." 

^■"'Asi lo practicaron en una canoa, resultando que era navegable para 
navios hasta doce leguas adentro desde el mar del norte, y en lo 
restante para canoas y barcas chatas." — Navarrete, tomo IV. 

Three hundred two 



FOR A STRAIT 

computing also the cost of the work in people and money, and 
the time required until its conclusion. 

This order by Charles V., in 1534, appears to have been 
the first definite attempt towards a canal on the Isthmus of 
Panama. Pascual de Andagoya — one of the first regidores of 
Panama, and afterwards adelantado of Nueva Castilla — had 
charge of the survey, perhaps as acting governor. In a letter 
from the port of Nombre de Dios, 22nd of October, 1534, 
Andagoya replied to the king, saying, among other things, that 
this project could only be advised by a man of scanty intellect, 
and who was totally ignorant of that country. He stated that 
he should do as His Majesty commanded, and have the surveys 
made during the next summer, as it was not possible to make 
them in the winter season; and affirmed that there was no 
prince in the world, however powerful he might be, capable 
of accomplishing the union of the two seas, or able to pay 
the cost of opening that passage as far as the river. As for 
making and repairing the highways from Nombre de Dios to 
Panama, and opening the Rio Chagres as far as the point 
where the boats would unload, five leagues from the city of 
Panama, it would be necessary for His Majesty to transport 
from Cape Verde fifty negroes with their women, since only 
with their labor could the enterprise be accomplished and main- 
tained with little cost. 

As might be imagined, the Licentiate Espinosa was inter- 
ested in this undertaking. In a letter from Panama, the loth 
of October, 1533, Espinosa tells the king that the Chagres 
route is a very good one, and that the river can be made 
navigable at very little cost, as he would see by the report. 
Espinosa advised building a town, or arsenals for goods, at 
the mouth of the Rio de Chagre, which he considered one of 
the best and most beautiful rivers in the world. It is worthy 
of note that Espinosa called the head of navigation in the 
river, Astruzes, probably the site of the Cruces of later days. 

After this period, a number of surveys of this region were 
made, the tides measured and their different altitudes com- 
puted, with the idea of effecting the union of the two seas; 
but all these attempts were fruitless. 

Under date of December 23rd, 1533, the new governor, 
Captain Barrionuevo, wrote that the camino from Nombre 
de Dios to Panama was so bad that there was nothing in all 
Christendom with which to compare it. 

On the 22nd of February, 1535, Fray Tomas de Berlanga, 
bishop of Panama, wrote a letter" to His Majesty, in which 

Three hundred three 



THB SEARCH 

he pictures the Isthmus to be the top of the world ; because 
looking to the north you see one-half of it, and looking to 
the south you behold the other half; but this summit is so 
difficult to mount that it costs much wealth and many lives of 
men. The highway was very difficult, and there was want of 
beasts of burden and of subsistence; moreover the country 
was very unhealthy. It appears that the good bishop was 
imposed upon by the traders and carriers at Nombre de Dios, 
and calls the place a den of thieves and graveyard of travelers ; 
and says that the town should be moved to the mouth of the 
Rio de Chagre, where was a good port in which ships of two 
hundred tons could anchor, discharge half the cargo into 
barges, and then enter and ascend the river to within five 
leagues of Panama. He also recommends that a highway be 
made from the mouth of the Chagre to the place where the 
boats were unloaded. The unloading-piace (desembarcadero) 
should not be where it then was, but three leagues below, 
because it was in this stretch of the river that occurred all 
the trouble during the low water of summer and the floods of 
winter. At this point, advised by the bishop, must be a town, 
to which should be moved the citizens of Ada, who were very 
discontented in being off the line of travel and trade to Peru. 
This town would become as great as Santo Domingo, and there 
must be located the cathedral church. 

"If this pass, in the manner aforesaid, is remedied, there is 
no more necessity to seek another strait, because Your Majesty 
will be lord of so great a World as in this Sea of the South 
is discovered, and waits to be discovered, and hold it all as 
under key, and go in and out of it for a counting-house ; since 
doing what I have said, there remains but one day's journey 
by land." 

The towns were not changed, as recommended by the bishop. 
Ada rapidly declined until even the memory of it was lost, 

" "E es, queste paso ymagino yo ques la cumbre del Mundo, porque 
puesto en el, mirando a la parte del Norte, se vee la mitad del ; e 
mirando al sur se vee la otra mitad ; pero esta cumbre es tan dyfi- 
cultosa de encumbrar, que cuesta muchas haziendas e muchas vidas 
de ombres. 

Esta la dyficultad en el camino, ser en si muy dyficultoso, en con- 
currir muchas e diversas gentes, en aber mucha falta de cabalgaduras, 
e en obrar la falta de mantenymientos e sobra de poca salud. Yo, 
Sacra Magestad, me e desvelado, despues que aqui vine, en pensar el 
rremedio de todos estos ynconvenientes ; e teniendo confianza en 
Nuestro Seiior, questando aqui un ano pensava de dar mucho rremedio 
a los ynconvenientes dichos, pero por no salir de su Real mandado, que 
con toda brevedad pase a la dicha Provyncia del Peru, no pude fazer 

Three hundred four 



I^OR A STRAIT 



fhl rl • "^^""^^ ^"^ t^^de sought the easier route hv 

As a result of these examinations and rpnnrfc fT,^ nu 

erected at if? mr,i,+u j / / river, and buildings 

Panam/wM^K ' f"""^ ^* ^^^ P°^"t "^ost convenient to 
^anama which became known as the venta (or inn) of Cruces 

d^er'^caiSe'To be uTed 'f '''''V^' ^e.L^ed^e 0^:^^ 
mIrchandiL ove the Istou tV'r /Z ''^'^'^^ ^"^^^ 
season ,,,, ^ght m'o^^ tn ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^r^ 

betw"een^C^;,?4^ fnT'thT ^^^'r^lZ^Z' '^''''''' '' 
entirely by land. This becam^e tlTrrLtL'^^'li:^^ 

I^^S^^rva'^rSr^^^^^^ ^,-^ P-bl9 del iV...... ,. 

tyfico a Vuestra Maeestad Tues^S ^^^ peregrmos, porque cer- 

que alli se hazen/efos que las aE ^J'' ^^' ^J'^'^^ones e ynjusticias 
porquellos tienen iL recrSs e no 1^« de rremediar son los prencipales, 
de las haziendas as vendS e como^T?" ^^-^ ^^^ ^"^ ^°« Buenos 
que tienen rrequas, ponen las d??h^^ Z fJ quien las trayga sino los 
^ri el Nombre de D orauelos au^t. frX^^ '^^^ tan baxos precios 
de traidas a este pueblo de K^JLV'" ''r^^" P^'^^^^ 
que los que tiene^airo que^anobrer'e ?o/" k" "^*°^ P^^^^°^' 
hambre; e unos no pueden vaw", o?r^! ' ^- ^^^ P^b^'^s, mueren de 
del Nombre de ZJ/^rse abilde LT/r . 1 P' Senorqueste pueblo 
porques rio muy al nroDo.itn- . J ^ ^^ ^^'^^ '^^^ ^^^ ^^ C%a^r^, 

en el navio de sVentrCles'car^arS ^.^h T^ ''*°^ ^^5"^' ^ ^"^^^^o 

e sufgirn1°ios^ de'^do^sct^^^^^^^^^^ ^-^e pueden entrar 

de la carga, e despues entrarse ptr%l%To arX ^1 ""''^^ 

e hazyendose camino nor tierra rl^^L u ^ ^^"Da hasta cmco leguas ; 
hasta el desembarcade'ro de los barco ' erauatl^.'^" ^'' ^' 4^^^^ 
agora lo tienen, pero tres le^uaV m/.' }^T ^ ^^ '^'■' "° ^ donde 
leguas esta toda la dyficultad del dll?n%°' ^S''^"^^ ^'^"^^^^^ t^^^ 
verano hay poca aqua e en ynvlrno .1 ^.\ ^' ^.^^■^''' P^^^^en 
aquel desembarcadeJo a de aber otrn n-M ^^^ e funosa. Alli en 
Jornada desta Cibdad de P„a e el nn.i?A '' 'iual a destar a una 
desembarcadero a una Jornada dest.^hf. J "^"^ ^>? ^^ ^^er en el 
estan muy descontentos! porquefti? aDart-ido.''^' l^'^"^ P^^^"^" ^"^ 
tratacion deste Fer, e pie^san^^uf s1/e^rfot ef ia^pr plsaX" 

Three hundred five 



THE SEARCH 

paved in places, and over which carts could travel." The all- 
land route, which crossed the Chagres river far above Cruces, 
also became much improved as the years went by, and was 
likewise paved in part ; but it is unlikely that carts ever passed 
over this road, except south of the Chagres. Early in the 
year 1535, when Don Alonzo Enriquez de Guzman passed 
overland from Nombre de Dios to Panama, there were three 
inns on the road, the first called Capira, the second La Junta, 
and the third La Venta de Chagres. 

After Puerto Bello became the northern terminus, and the 
roads well-established, the over-land Camino Real started from 
Panama, passed through a little settlement called Maria 

alii, con los yndios que tienen harian mucha labranza e comida en 
toda aquella ribera de Chagre, porques la mas aparejada para ella. 
En el Nombre de Dois no ay tierras de labranzas ni pastos para 
ganados, e aca tienen lo uno e lo otro; e estos dos pueblos hechos por 
la manera susodicha, proveerian de pastos e comidas e caminos por el 
rio e por la tierra, que se harian muy buenos con ayundarles Vuestra 
Magestad ; con hasta tres o quatro mill pesos ; quedaba el camino facil 
e proveido e muy mas sano, porque ya ay muchos, ansi en la boo.a 
como en el desembarcadero, aunque no a de ser adonde agora esta, 
sino adonde tengo dicho, que son tres leguas mas abajo del rrio, e en 
todo este trato estan muy sanos los quen el andan, porque la 
dyspusicion de la Tierra e del rrio lo requyriese sano, como el Nombre 
de Dios, es necesario ser enf ermo. No se si me se dar a entender ; 
pero se que quanto mas presto esto se hiciere, se haria con menos 
dyficultad e se veria mas el provecho, e abria mas recabdo en la 
hazienda de Vuestra Sacra Magestad. Bien se quen esta Tierra ay 
pocos deste parecer porque les parece que perderia mucho de su 
ynterese; porque yo lo e querido platicar e no salen a ello, porque 
dizen que a donde digo que se abia de pasar Ada, dizen ques termino 
desta Cibdad : e pareceme quen una cosa como esta, Vuestra Magestad 
lo abia de mandar hazer absolutamente, porques el bien de toda esta 
Tierra; e alii se se haria un pueblo que fuese tan bueno o mejor que 
Santo Domingo, e aun digo que alii abia destar la Yglesia Catedral. 

Si este paso, por la manera susodicha, se remedia, no ay mas 
necesidad de buscar otro estrecho, porque Vuestra Magestad sera 
senor de un tan gran Mundo como el quen esta Mar del Sur se 
descubre, e espera se descubrira, e tenerlo todo como debajo de Have, 
e entren e salgan por contadero ; pues hecho lo que dicho tengo, no 
queda sino una Jornada por tierra. 

De Panama, veinte e dos de Hebrero de mill quynientos e treinta e 
cinco afios. — De Vuestra Sacra Catholica Cesarea Magestad, siervo e 
perpetuo Capellan que sus Reales pies e manos besa. — Fray Tomas 
episcopus locastelli aurii." 

(Archivo de Indias. — Patronato. — Est. 2°. — Caj. 2°. — Leg. 2°. Colec- 
cion de Doc. Ined., tomo XLI, pags. S32-538). 

" The reader should not confuse the Cruces-Panama road with the 
all-land road between Nombre de Dios or Portobelo, on the north, 
and the city of Panama. Both these roads were caminos, or high- 
ways, and we find each frequently designated as the camino real. 

Three hundred six 



POR A STRAIT 

Enrique, then through Venta de Camalilla (also called 
Canutillo) to Venta de Chagre, above Dos Bocas. Crossing 
the Rio Chagre at this point, the road continued northward to 
the pueblo of San Juan, on the Rio de San Juan (now called 
Rio Pequeni). Keeping on the eastern side of this river, the 
road passed through Puehlo de Indios to the town of Pequeni, 
on the bank of the same river, and to Boqueron. North of 
this settlement, the road made several crossings of the river 
still called San Juan, after which it passed over the hills to 
the Rio Cascajal, near Bl Bujio ; and then followed down that 
river in a northwesterly direction to Puerto Bello, the Cascajal 
emptying into the bay just east and north of the city. 
Descriptions of the old highway vary at different periods, and 
doubtless slight diversions were made as the years went by. 

Midway the Panama-Cruces road, was a place named Lima- 
rette, and between Limarette and Cruces the road divided,, the 
main branch going on to Cruces, the other to a point on" the 
Chagres called Santa Cruz, about the location of the present 
Gamboa. Santa Cruz may have been a place for discharging 
boats during low stages of the river. When the Chagres was 
very shallow, in the summer time, the king's treasure was 
sometimes packed from Panama to a loading-place on the 
Rio de la Trinidad, called Bmbarcadero, whence it was trans- 
ported by boats to enter the Chagres near Gatun. Embarca- 
d^ro was on a line west from Vaila Monos. This same mao 
also shows Matachin, Gorgona, Barbacoa, and El Gatun 
located as at present. ' 

While the idea of a canal" through the Isthmus began to 
take shape at a very early period, still most of the efforts made 
were m search of another strait, in addition to the passage 
found by Magellan, or for a better route over the land. About 
the gulf of Mexico and northward, the coasts had been scanned 
by Cordoba, Grijalva, Francisco de Garay, Alonso Alvarez de 
f^meda, Lucas Vazquez de Aillon, and Juan Ponce de Leon 
but no opening had been discovered. 



How majestic and fair was Spain in the sixteenth century Never 
. , in .i,T seen such energy, activity, or good fortune. Hers was 
awill that regarded no obstacles. Neither rivers, deserts, nor mount- 
ains, far higher than those m Europe, arrested her people. They built 
grand cities ; they drew their fleets, as in a twinkling of an eye from 
the very forests. _ A handful of men conquered empires They 
seemed a race of giants or demi-gods. One would have supposed that 
all the work necessary to bind together climates and oceans would 
have been done at the word of the Spaniards, as by enchantment, and 
since nature had not left a passage through the center of America, so 
much the better for the glory of the human race; they would make up 
the loss by artificial openings."— Chevalier, Ulsthme de Panama. 

Three hundred seven 



THB SBARCH 

Juan de Ayola was looking for a strait, when, in 1535, with 
two hundred followers, he went up the Paraguay river and 
crossed over to Peru. 

The Isthmus of Panama, however, continued to remain the 
chief portal of the South Sea, over which droves of Spaniards 
passed on their way to or from Peru, the Philippine Islands, 
or other colonies of Spain. So unhealthful were Nombre de 
Dios" and the city of Panama,"* and so difficult the transit of 
the Isthmus, that within less than thirty years after its settle- 
ment by the Spaniards, more than 40,000 persons had per- 
ished. In addition to the extreme insalubrity of the climate, 
the Spaniards had to contend with the Cimarrones^ who way- 
laid them on the Camino Real, and even attacked Nombre de 
Dios. Nombre de Dios was a poor harbor, and the men had 
to wade into the sea to unload the ships. For these reasons, 
Spain sought farther north for a general highway to the 
Pacific. 



_ " Nombre de Dios was so unhealthy, we are told, that Indian women 
living there became barren, and even the native fruits refused to grow. 
Strong men did not live out the usual span of life, and all Spanish 
children died in infancy. Spanish mothers went to Cruces for their 
accouchement, and if the children were reared there for five or six 
years, they would live to arrive at maturity. 

Of Nombre de Dios, Alcedo says: "It is of bad temperature, moist, 
and rainy; for which reasons, and also because the port of Portobelo 
was preferable, the city was removed to this last mentioned place, by 
order of Philip II. in 1585, by Don Inigo de la Mota, when the former 
city became reduced to a miserable village, its port being frequented 
by foreign vessels, which carried on a contraband trade. The English 
pirate Francis Drake sacked the city in 1598 [1596]. The chief of 
squadron Don Francisco Cornejo had off the coast a combat with 
two Dutch frigates, in 1724; and the Count de Clavijp, who was 
commander of the Guarda costas, had also two other engagements in 
the following years of 1725 and 1726. The English Admiral Hosier 
blockaded in this port, for a whole year, some galleons under the 
command of Lieutenant General Don Bias de Lego, in 1538 [1728]. 
It is five leagues from Portobelo." 

*" On account of the complaint of the citizens, several attempts were 
made to move Panama to a more salubrious site. In 1531, Governor 
Gama endeavored to have this done. A royal cedula directed the 
people to meet and discuss the proposition, when the question was 
decided in the negative. Pascual de Andagoya opposed the change, 
as he aflfirms that God himself had selected the site, and that Panama 
was the only port in the South Sea where vessels could anchor along- 
side the street. 

^ By the middle of the sixteenth century there were hundreds of 
runaway negro slaves, who mingled with the Indians and formed 
settlements of their own. About 1554, the new viceroy Mendoza, on 
his way to Peru, stopped at Nombre de Dios and directed Pedro de 
Ursua to subjugate these outlaws, who were commanded by one of 

Three hundred eight 



POR A STRAIT 

In 1539, Francisco de Montejo, governor of Honduras, 
addressed a letter to the emperor urging the construction of a 
road between Puerto de Caballos and Golfo de Fonseca. 
Those ports were the best on either coast, the cHmate was 
healthy, the Indians pacific, provisions more easily procured, 
and gold was so abundant in that region that the caballeros 
could dig it out of the ground with their stirrup irons. In 
furtherance of his scheme, Montejo directed Captain Alonso 
Caceres to start a town midway the two seas ; and that same 
year, 1539, Caceres founded Valladolid, afterwards called 
Comayagua, the capital of Honduras. In 1554, the king com- 
missioned Juan Garcia de Hermosillo to inquire into the 
merits of the respective routes; and in 1556, he presented two 
memorials'' to the king advocating the change to Honduras, 
and recommended that the ships sailing from Panuco Golfo 
Dulce, and Vera Cruz stop at Puerto Caballos. Oviedo, the 
historian, Luis Gutierrez, the cosmographer, and even Juan 
de Barbosa, then governor of Tierra Firme, all supported 
the move. 

The matter dragged on; but in 1565, Felipe de Anirion, an 
old resident of the Indies, revived the project in another 
memorial to the king, in which he advocated the Honduran 
route, claiming, in addition to the grounds already given, that 
It would furnish better protection from the attacks of 'free- 
booters and corsairs who now frequented the Caribbean. In 
1578, still another memorial was presented by the Licenciado 
Diego Garcia de Palacios, Auditor of the Kingdom of Guate- 
mala. Though the distance across Honduras was fifty-two 
leagues, while the Panama route was only eighteen, yet the 
cost of a single mule over the former route was only nine 
pesos, as compared with thirty pesos charged for a trip by the 
shorter road. 

As French, Dutch, and English sea-rovers increased among 
the West Indies, the large and accessible harbor of Puerto 
Caballos became a disadvantage, and we find Dr. Alonzo 



their number named Bayano, whom they recognized as king AftT 
two years warfare, the cimarrones were defeated, and Bayano cap- 
tured and sent a prisoner to Spain. A treaty of peace was then con- 
cluded m which the Spaniards declared the renegade negroes to be 
fiee._ It was not long, however, before these people broke out again- 
f^ ^ ^ C^"^ ™^^^ ^^^^-^ ^^^y received aid and encouragement from 
the l^rench Dutch, and English privateers who began to frequent the 
Isthmus. It was the cimarrones who founded, in 1570, the town of 
bantiago del Principe. 

* E. G. Squier, Central America. 



Three hundred nine 



THB SEARCH 

Criado de Castilla recommending the port of Santo Tomas, 
nearer Guatemala, because the rascally pirates could not enter 
the narrow and intricate channel without the aid of expert 
pilots. 

The people of Castilla del Oro, Mexico, and the other 
provinces opposed any plan to remove trade from their terri- 
tories, and the gateway to the Pacific remained at Panama. 
The celebrated Italian engineer, Juan Bautista Antonelli, who 
built so many fortresses in the Spanish Indies, was sent out, 
in 1586, to examine the Caribbean ports. At this time, Puerto 
Bello was but a little settlement of not more than ten houses. 
When Antonelli noted the excellent port, and how admirably it 
was adapted for defensive works, he wrote to King Philip: 
"If it might please your Majesty it were good that the city 
of Nombre de Dios be brought and builded in this harbour." 
Accordingly, Felipe II. ordered the change to be made, and 
Portobello became the northern port of entry. The official 
transfer occurred on the 20th of March, 1597,^ under the 
factor Francisco de Valverde y Mercado. Doubtless, the gen- 
eral populace were several years in moving westward to the 
new town. Forts were built at Portobello, the Castle of San 
Lorenzo was constructed at the mouth of the Rio Chagre, and 
even Cruces was fortified. 

Near the close of the year 1599 — three years after the visit 
of Francis Drake, and two years subsequent to the change 
from Nombre de Dios — Samuel de Champlain arrived at 
Puerto Bello in the flota of Don Francisco Colombe. Cham- 
plain calls the place the most evil and pitiful residence in the 
world. "Nevertheless, the said harbour of Porto-bello is very 
good ; there are two castles at the entrance, which are tolerably 
strong, where there are three hundred soldiers in garrison. 
Adjoining the said port, where the fortresses are, there is 
another, which is not at all commanded by them, and where 
an enemy might land safely." He says that Drac [Drake] 
died of disappointment in failing to take Porto-bello, and that 
he ordered his body to be put in a lead coffin and thrown in 
the sea; which was done, "between an island and the said 
Porto-bello." Champlain, apparently, did not pass over the 
Isthmus, yet of the Panama-Cruces barrier, he writes — "One 
may judge that, if the four leagues of land which there are 
from Panama to this river [Chagres] were cut through, one 
might pass from the South sea to the ocean on the other side, 

^ Erroneously given as 1584 by most writers, and sometimes 1585 
and 1587. 

Three hundred ten 



POR A STRAIT 

and thus shorten the route by more than fifteen hundred 
leagues; and from Panama to the Straits of Magellan would 
be an island, and from Panama to the New-found-lands would 
be another island, so that the whole of America would be in 
two islands." 

In 1616, the year the Dutchmen found a way around Cape 
Horn, the Spanish king, in his instructions to Don Diego 
Fernandez de Velasco, recently appointed governor of Castilla 
del Oro, declares that it is held as a thing very certain that the 
Sea of the South communicated with the Sea of the North, and 
that the passage was through the creek (ensenada) of Acle, 
thirty leagues leeward of Cartagena, by the mouths of the 
rivers called Daciel and Damaquiel. If this way was opened, 
Spanish commerce could pass through, and a check (freno) 
be placed on the entrance of the enemies of Spain. In con- 
junction with Don Francisco de Benegas, captain-general of 
the flota, who would closely examine the coast in small vessels 
from Cartagena, Velasco was ordered to have some experi- 
enced persons, with negroes, search the Gulf of San Miguel 
and the River of Darien. These investigations were to be 
made without any expense to the royal treasury, and nothing 
ever came of them. 

Spain sent out other expeditions in the wake of Magellan, 
but, with the exception of that of Loaisa, they either failed 
to find his strait, or to effect a passage through it; so that 
attempts in this direction were abandoned for more than twenty 
years, and the Spaniards again looked for a passage through 
the equatorial parts of America. Caspar de Espinosa, in his 
letter of 1533, advises against trying to send ships by the Strait 
of Santa Maria (as he calls it), discovered by Mpigellan, as 
it would open another door to the Turk and other princes to 
reach the rich treasures of Peru. In time, knowledge of 
Magellan's strait seems to have been lost; some claiming that 
it was only a passage between the firm land and certain islands, 
while others believed that it had been closed by some con- 
vulsion of nature. This proven strait, like the alleged passes 
farther north, came to be called el estrecho dudoso — the doubt- 
ful strait. From their doubts of the existence of a strait, and 
their fancied security of a monopoly of the South Sea, the 
Spaniards were rudely awakened by the sudden appearance in 
the Pacific of Francis Drake; followed by Cavendish, Mahu, 
Noort, Spilberg, Richard Hawkins, and other enemies of Spain. 

One of the first to suggest a remedy for the shortcomings 

Three hundred eleven 



THB SEARCH 

of nature, in her abortive effort to make a strait at Panama, 
was Francisco Lopez de Gomara, the chaplain of Cortes, who 
wrote the chronicle of New Spain. About 1555, he urged 
Felipe II. to attempt to join the two seas by a canal; either 
at Tehuantepec, Nicaragua, or Panama. "It is true," said 
Gomara, "that mountains obstruct these passes, but if there 
are mountains, there are also hands. Let but the resolve be 
made, there will be no want of means; the Indies, to which 
the passage will be made, will supply them. To a King of 
Spain, with the wealth of the Indies at his command, what is 
possible is easy." 

On the other hand, there were not wanting persons who 
affirmed that to open a canal through the seven leagues of 
land, between the Chagres river and the South Sea, at Panama, 
would inundate the country, as one sea was believed to be 
lower than the other. In all times past, it was held that where 
two seas were in close contiguity they were always of different 
levels. For this reason, efforts to join the Red Sea and the 
river Nile, in the days of King Sesostris, and afterwards 
under the Ottoman Empire had been abandoned. 

The Jesuit father, Joseph de Acosta, who crossed the 
Isthmus in 1570, on his way to Peru, declares that he held as 
vain all pretensions to open the land, and "that no human 
power will suffice to demolish the most strong and impene- 
trable mountains and solid rocks, which God has placed 
between the two seas, and which sustain the fury of both 
oceans. And when it will be to men possible, it would, in 
my opinion, be very proper to fear the chastisement of Heaven 
for wishing to correct the works which the Creator, with 
greatest deliberation and foresight, ordained in the fabrication 
of this universe."^ 

It was early in the reign of, Felipe II. that the two Flemish 
engineers''^ were sent out to examine the Isthmus for a canal, 
and they pronounced the difficulties insurmountable. At this 

^Who dares to affirm that Acosta was wrong in his declaration? 
The divine injunction, not to put asunder what God hath joined 
together, may apply to continents as well as to human wedlock. When 
we consider the enormous cost, in lives and money, of the Panama 
canal, the expenses of fortifications and maintenance, the troubles 
with slides, evaporation, and seepage, the hazards from floods and dis- 
turbances in the earth, and the international complications to which it 
may give rise, I am much inclined to believe that the old padre was 
right. 

^ "En tiempo de Felipe II. se proyecto corterlo, y comunicar los 
dos mares por medio de un canal, y a este efecto se enviaron para 
reconocerlo dos Ingenieros Flamencos, pero encontraron dificultades 

Three hundred twelve 



FOR A STRAIT 

time, Spain held the Pacific inviolate, and the Council of the 
Indies represented the disadvantage which would ensue to 
the monarchy should an easy waterway be opened to the 
South Sea. Philip, who ascended the throne of Spain in 1555, 
unlike his father, Charles V., was not inclined to be pro- 
gressive ; so he readily accepted these opinions, and suppressed 
all efforts to improve transit from sea to sea. 

Spain became suspicious of the other nations of Europe, 
and feared they would seize some of her widely extended 
provinces in the New World. Trade was restricted to a few 
favored Spanish merchants, and the number of American ports 
was limited — New Spain (Mexico) being allowed only Vera 
Cruz on the Gulf, and Acapulco on the Pacific; while Castilla 
del Oro had Puerto Bello'° on the Caribbean, and Old Panama"' 
on the South Sea. Spain tried to conceal both the rich- 
ness^ and weakness of her colonies in the New World, and 
isolated them from all intercourse with the other powers. It 
was held that the opening of an artificial passage through the 
Isthmus would be in opposition to the will and intent of the 
Creator, and incur the divine displeasure, and all further plans 
for a canal were interdicted ''on pain of death." As the 
Atrato river"^ seemed to promise a communication with the 
South Sea, the navigation of that stream was forbidden under 
like penalty. 

insuperables, y el consejo de Indias represento los perjucios que de 
alio se sequirian a la monarquia, por cu3'a razon mando aquel Monarca 
que nadie propusiese 6 tratase de ello en adelante, pena de la vida. 
Eugenio Raymondi lo llama estrecho de San JMiguel impropiamente, 
pues no tiene comunicacion de un mar con otro." — Alcedo, Die. Geog- 
Hist. de las Indias, tonio II, p. 464. 

■^ Most of the traffic between Spain and her American colonies was 
carried on by a large fleet of galleons and carracks, heavily armed, 
which made the voyage out and back yearly. Upon reaching the 
Lesser Antilles from Spain, the ships divided; one division, called 
the Plot a, going on to Vera Cruz with the goods for Mexico. The 
other fleet, called the Galeones, with supplies for Tierra Firme, Cas- 
tilla del Oro, and Peru, continued westward along the north coast of 
South America, on its way to Puerto Bello. On account of the 
unhealthfulness of Puerto Bello, and the high cost of living at that 
port, this fleet first stopped at Cartagena, where the Admiral waited 
for _ news of the arrival at Panama of the plate fleet from Peru. 
While stopping at Cartagena, there was held what was known as the 
"little fair," during which the ships traded with merchants who came 
from the inland provinces of Santa Fe, Popoyan, and Quito. After 
a time, this preliminary traflfic at Cartagena was prohibited on the 
complaints of the merchants of Lima, who suffered from carrying 
European goods from Quito to Peru. 

When the ships from Peru reached Panama, an express was sent 
to inform the fleet at Cartagena. At the same time, the chests of 

Three hundred thirteen 



THE SEARCH 

gold and ingots of silver were packed upon mules, and carried to 
Puerto Bello in reciias, or trains, of loo mules each, b}' the overland 
road. The bulky merchandise from the Pacific coast was carted to 
Venta de Cruces, where it was placed on barges, and shipped down 
the Chagres river and by sea to Puerto Bello. When the galleons 
anchored in the port, and the merchants from Panama, Peru, and 
other parts had arrived at Puerto Bello, the President (or Governor) 
of Panama, and deputies from the two trading parties, held a con- 
ference and regulated the prices of all articles, which remained fixed 
throughout the 60 days of the fair. 

On the plaza by the landing, opposite the Aduana, or custom-house, 
the seamen erected booths or tents, made of sails, to which the bales 
of merchandise landed from the ships were drawn on sledges, and 
where most of the trading was conducted. During the fair, a house 
rented for 5000 or 6000 pesos, and an ordinary room and alcove for 
1000. Thomas Gage, about 1637, waited in Portobello for the arrival 
of the galleons from Spain, under the Admiral Don Carlos de Ybarra. 
When the fleet arrived, the town overflowed with the 4000 or 5000 
soldiers guarding the ships, besides merchants from Peru, Spain, and 
elsewhere. Lodging became so dear that Gage had to give fourscore 
crowns for a mouse-hole of a room, and a merchant paid 1000 crowns 
rent for a shop for fifteen days. In one day. Gage saw 200 mules 
arrive from Panama, laden with wedges of silver, which were piled 
up in the market-place like heaps of stones, without any fear or 
suspicion of being lost. Within ten days came the fleet, consisting of 
eight galleons and ten merchant ships. Much sickness prevailed and 
the mortality was high. The cleric further adds that about 500 soldiers, 
merchants, and mariners died of fevers and fluxes the year that he 
was there, "so that they found the town to be to them not Porto hello, 
but Porto malo." 

"Again," says Alcedo, "the spectator who had just before been con- 
sidering Portobello in a poor, unpeopled state, without a ship in the 
port, and breathing nothing but misery and wretchedness, would remain 
thunderstruck at beholding the strange alteration which takes place 
at the time of this fair. Now he would see the houses crowded with 
people, the square and the streets crammed with chests of gold and 
silver, and the port covered with vessels ; some of these having 
brought by the river Chagre from Panama the effects of Peru, such 
as cacao, bark [quina], vicuna wool, bezoar stone, and other produc- 
tions of these provinces. He would see others bringing provisions 
from Cartagena: and he would reflect that, however detestable might 
be its climate, this city was the emporium of the riches of the two 
worlds, and the most considerable commercial depot that was ever 
known." 

Whilst the Asiento of negroes subsisted, either with France or 
England, one of their principal factories was located at Portobello, 
and was of considerable advantage to its commerce, as being the 
channel by which not only Panama was supplied with slaves, but from 
whence they were sent all over the kingdom of Peru ; on which 
account the agents of the contract were allowed to bring with them 
sufficient provisions both for themselves and their negroes of both 
sexes. 

Under the Asiento to the treaty of Utrecht, the English were per- 
mitted to yearly send an armed ship, called Navio de Permiso, to trade 
at Portobello. This ship touched first at Jamaica, and was loaded 
down with goods, and scarcely any water or food. Besides being a 

Three hundred fourteen 



POR A STRAIT 

The selfish and exclusive policy towards the Spanish- 
American colonies instituted by Philip II. continued for two 
centuries after the death of that monarch."" Even so late as 
1775, the king of Spain rebuked the people of the Mexican 
state of Oaxaca for petitioning that the Tehuantepec""^ route 

very large vessel (over 500 Spanish tons, says Ulloa), it was accom- 
panied by five or six tenders, loaded also with merchandise, which, 
when near Portobello, was crowded on the big ship; "by which 
artifice the single ship was made to carry more than five or six of 
the largest galleons. This nation having a free trade, and selling 
cheaper than the Spaniards, that indulgence was of infinite detriment 
to the commerce of Spain." 

" "The king was constantly defrauded of his revenues by contraband 
trading which prevailed throughout the provinces, but nowhere to 
such an extent as in Panama. In the year 1624 the amount of mer- 
chandise registered as passing through the casa de Cruces was 
1,446,346 pesos, while goods to the amount of 7,597,559 pesos were 
reported by the factor Cristobal de Balba to have been smuggled 
through. No punishment was inflicted for these frauds, though his 
Majesty thus suffered a loss of 1,370,656 pesos, and the matter was 
compounded by the payment of 200,000 pesos into the treasury, the 
factor having received a bribe of 6,000 pesos. Smuggling was prac- 
tised to such an extent that it threatened the very existence of legiti- 
mate commerce. For this condition of affairs Spain had but herself 
to blame. The merchants of Seville, who still enjoyed a monopoly of 
the trade with the provinces, despatched only a small squadron twice 
a year to supply the wants of the colonists. They regulated no less 
the supply of European goods in America than of American goods in 
Europe, and took care that both should be shipped in quantities so 
small as to ensure enormous profits. All kinds of devices were resorted 
to by contraband traders, both Spaniards and foreigners, to secure 
a portion of the rich traffic of the Isthmus, and the government finding 
its revenues constantly decreasing, finally declared smuggling to be a 
mortal sin, and made those who engaged in it liable to be tried by the 
inquisition." — Bancroft, Central America, II., p. 473. 

^ "A second reason is, and it is the principal, that if we truly con- 
sider the greatness of Spain, it consisteth chiefly in their treasure, and 
their treasure in their Indies, and their Indies, both of them, is but 
an accession to such as are masters by sea; so as this axle-tree, 
whereupon their greatness turns, is soon cut a-two by any that shall 
be stronger than they at sea." — Lord Bacon's Works, vol. ii., p. 201. 

^^This is one of the causes which kept that region unknown, uncon- 
quered, and unsettled by whites. 

^ So poor was the transcontinental transit that, towards the close 
of_ the eighteenth century, ships for the western coast of America 
sailed from Spain via the Cape of Good Hope and Manila. After over 
three centuries of discussion and scheming, there was still no easy 
way over the Isthmus or continents of America, till the ceasless and 
irresistible strife for gold, discovered in California in 1848, quickly 
called into being the Panama Railroad and the Pacific Railway. 

''Capt. R. W. Shufeldt, U. S. Navy, writing in 1871, regarded a 
canal through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec not as international in 
character and necessity, but as distinctly American and local in its 

Three hundred fifteen 



THE SBARCH 

be improved. The proposition for a canal, however, would 
not down; and, finally, the Spanish Cortes, in 1814, decreed 
the construction of a canal to join the two oceans. This tardy 
effort to conciliate the restless colonists came too late, and 
the project was never even attempted. At this time, the 
provinces were beginning to declare their independence, and 
in a few years more, Spain ceased to possess a single colony 
on the continent of the New World. 

For nearly four centuries, the White Man has been planning 
and striving to sever the Isthmus of America, and unite the 
waters of the Atlantic to the waters of the Pacific. This 
dream of the ages will be realized, within a few years, at 
Panama, and the portal to the Sea of the South will stand ajar. 
We must constantly hear in mind that this door opens in both 
directions, and it behooves us to see that it is well guarded. 

main object. "A canal through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is an 
extension of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. It converts 
the Gulf of Mexico into an American lake. In time of war it closes 
that Gulf to all enemies. It is the only route which our government 
can control. So to speak, it renders our own territory circumnavigable. 
It brings New Orleans 1,400 nautical miles nearer to San Francisco 
than a canal via Darien, and such is the character of the intervening 
waters, that it permits a canal-boat to load in Saint Louis and dis- 
charge her freight in California with but little more than the risk of 
inland navigation. As a matter of political economy, therefore, as 
well as_ of commercial necessity, a canal here assumes the gravest 
proportions. It may be that the future of our country lies hidden in 
this problem — whether, in the demonstration of which, our principles 
of government, and our commerce under the flag which represents 
them, are to go hand in hand to further development, until are reached 
and taught the remotest corners of the East and the rudest barbarians 
of the Pacific Isles, or whether, resisting the struggles and checking 
the aspirations of the American heart for space and freedom, we are 
to live in disregard of natural law, and leave to another nation a 
glorious mission unfulfilled." 



Three hundred sixteen 



POR A STRAIT 



Proposed routes for canals and roads, after Malte-Brun, from Davis' 
Report, 1867 : 

CANALS. 



I. 
II. 



III. 



IV. 



V. 



Z 

V 



to 

M 

> 

m 
B 

CS 

a 

a. 



Lake 
Man- 
agua. 



{ 



1. Tehuantepec, by the Coatzacoalcos and 

Chicapa. 

2. Honduras. 

" 3. R. San Carlos, G. de Nicoya. 

^ 4. R. Nino, Tempisque, G. de Nicoya. 

5. R. Sapoa, B. Salinas. 

6. San Juan del Sur. 

7. Brito. 

8. R. Tamarinda. 

9. P. Realejo. 
10. B. Fonseca. 



River 
Charges, 



11. Gorgona, Panama. 

12. Trinidad, Caymito. 

13. Navy Bay, R. Chagres, R. Bonito, R. 

Bernardo. 

14. San Bias, R. Chepo. 



Rive r J 
Atrato 



15. B. Caledonia, G. San Miguel. 

16. Rs. Arguia, Paya, Tuyra, G. San 

Miguel. 

17. R. Napipi, Cupica. 

18. R. Truando, Kelley's I. 

19. R. Tuyra, G. Uraba, or R. Atrato. 

ROADS. 



A. Coatzacoalcos, Tehuantepec. 

B. B. Honduras to G. of Fonseca. 

C. R. San Juan, Nicaragua, Managua, G. of Fonseca. 

D. Port Limon to Caldera, Costa Rica, 

E. Chiriqui Inlet to Golfo Dulce. 

F. Aspinwall, Panama (railroad finished). 

G. Gorgon B., Realejo. Nicaragua. 
H, Gorgon B., San Juan del Sur. j 



Three hundred seventeen 



CHAPTER XIX. 



ABORIGINES OF THE ISTHMUS. 



"Let them live in their seclusion, _ 

Let them keep their fair possessions, 

Let them rule themselves unaided, 

O ye nations of the earth! 

Let them practice their religion, 

And observe their rights and customs 

O ye pushing missionaries 

Of accepted creed and sect! 

Trouble not this gentle people — 

Leave them to their peace and quiet — 

Nor disturb this tropic Eden^ 

Of the red men of San Bias!" ^;^u^^t■ 

James Stanley Gilbert. 

HEN the Spaniards settled Antigua in the east- 
ern end of the Isthmus, early in 1510, the 
Indians, whose village they seized, were called 
Darien. From that day to this, the eastern 
part of the Isthmus, on both coasts, has been 
known as Darien ; and the native Indians today 
often receive the same designation. For- 
tunately for the Spaniards, the Dariens, unlike 
the natives east of the Atrato river, did not use 
poisoned arrows, and the white invaders were 
able to beat them back, and establish them- 
selves on the Isthmus. 
As band after band was subjugated, the Spaniards called 
the Indians after the name of the ruling chief; as Careta, 
Comagre, Tubanama, Paris. The native term for chief was 
tiba, or quebi, and when Columbus attempted to start a colony 
in Veragua, the head chief was called quibian. The Spaniards 
introduced the title cacique from Espanola, and designated 
the principal ruler as king. The native tribes or clans lived 
in villages, often surrounded with palisades, the houses being 
constructed of wooden frames, covered with canes, palm- 
leaves, and grass. They built no masonry, and left neither 
temples nor monuments. The cultivation of maize was uni- 
versal, and they possessed the mandioc, yam, bananas, cocoa- 
nuts, and other vegetable products, in addition to fish and 
game. Deer and wild-hogs, with pheasants and other birds. 

Three hundred nineteen 




ABORIGINBS OF 

and an occasional tapir, furnished meat. The Indians raised 
and spun cotton, which was made into scant garments for the 
women, and robes of ceremony for the men. At the time of 
the discovery, they mined gold in small quantities, mostly from 
placers, which was hammered and worked into images of 
animals, plates or mirrors, bracelets, and diadems. They made 
baskets, and twisted silk-grass and maho-bark into cordage for 
fish-nets and hammocks. 

The warriors painted their bodies in red, yellow, blue, and 
black, with figures of beasts and birds. They usually went 
naked, and were armed with bow and arrows, spear, and shield. 
Instead of the Adamic fig-leaf they wore a receptacle made 
of gold, silver or bone. The men wore the hair long, and 
plucked out the beard. The Isthmian Indians believed in a 
Supreme Being; in evil spirits; and in places of reward and 
punishment after death. They possessed totems or animal 
tutelars, and held religious feasts and other ceremonies. Their 
priests, or medicine-men — called lele and pazuawas — claimed 
to be magicians, and could foretell events. A class of 
sorcerers, in the mountains of Veragua, were called by the 
Spaniards chupadores, or suckers ; from their practice of suck- 
ing the blood of the person operated upon. Special ceremonies 
attended the arrival of the period of puberty in both sexes. 
Before a marriage, the entire band turned out to build a house, 
and start a plantation for the young couple; and at the bridal- 
feast, most of the men got drunk on chicha, or other fer- 
mented drink, first laying aside their weapons. 

The ethnographic division between North and South 
America is situated south of Lake Nicaragua, along the north- 
ern limits of Costa Rica. The Panama Indians show linguistic 
and other affinities with the natives of the southern continent, 
especially with the Chibchas, whose home was in the valleys 
of Bogota and Tunja, on the headwaters of the Magdalena 
river. The chief characteristic of their language is the fre- 
quent repetition of the syllables chi, chu, and cha. 

The great valleys of Colombia, with a trend towards the 
Isthmus, determined the growth and migration of these people 
in that direction.'' The tribe inhabiting the eastern half of 

^ Apparently, this does not accord with the theory of the unity of the 
American race (Amerinds), and the generally accepted belief that the 
Western Hemisphere was peopled from Asia, by way of Bering Sea, 
or the "miocene bridge" formed by the elevation of the bottom of that 
sea. If we consider South America as peopled from North America, 
then it occurred at such an early period that the reflux of tribes over 
the Isthmus showed little relation to the stocks of the northern conti- 
nent. The submergence, and subsequent uprising of most of the 
Isthmus is obvious to the veriest tyro in geology. 

Three hundred twenty 



THE ISTHMUS 

the Itshmus is the Ciinas, called also Cuna-cunas, Dariens, 
Tules, Cuevas, Paparos, Irriacos, or Tucutis. They call them- 
selves Tules, which in their language signifies men, or the men. 
They believe themselves of Carib stock, and their independent 
bearing, as well as their location and language, indicate con- 
siderable admixture with that race. The Caribs'' were a sea- 
roaming people from the region of the Orinoco river, who 
drove the Arawaks from the Lesser Antilles, traded and warred 
as far as the Gulf of Mexico, and left their impress along the 
shores of the Caribbean. 

The Cunas extend from the valley of the Atrato, where they 
join with the Chocos on the right bank of that river, as far 
west as the Canal Zone and Chagres river, which separates 
them from the region of the Guaimis, who inhabit the western 
half of the Isthmus. The Cunas are slightly undersized 
(about 1.50) but symmetrical and vigorous. Their color is 
light, and individuals with chestnut or reddish hair and gray 
eyes have always been noted among them, and they have 
erroneously^ been supposed to be albinos. Their skulls are 
markedly brachycephalic (88), and their foreheads broad. In 
spite of the severe measures of the Spaniards, they have never 
been thoroughly subdued, and still manifest an unconquerable 
love of freedom and a wild life.* 

Nowadays, the Cunas are designated San Bias, Manzanillos, 
Mandingas, Bayanos, Chucunacos, etc., according to the region 
or river valley they inhabit. Those I have seen would average 
a little over five feet in height, shapely and well muscled ; with 
small hands and feet, but the stubby, spreading toes we find 
among primitive people who go barefooted and carry burdens. 
They have light brown, or coppery, skins, with round heads 



^ Carib, from Karina, is said to mean Cannibal, and that tribe has 
generally been accused of man-eating. 

' Dr. D. G. Brinton. 

* In 1908, when a certain high official of the Canal Commission was 
looking for a sand deposit along the San Bias coast, the chief of that 
region, who answered to the name of Henry Clay, informed the officer 
that "God had put the sand there, and there it would stay. Go away 
and don't come back." The chief also warned the pilot of the tug 
that, if he brought any more white men to his domain, he would kill 
him. This is the almost universal regard in which we are held by the 
Indians, and is a sad commentary on our four centuries of Christian 
domination. 

^ "Entre ellos los albinos no son raros, y algunos hombres de piel casi 
blanca y cabello rojo, dan testimonio del paso frecuente y larga per- 
manencia de los piratas por aquellos lugares." — Ramon M. Valdes. 



'Three hundred twenty-one 



ABORIGINES OF 

and faces, black hair and eyes. I believe that genuine albinos" 
exist among them," and that gray eyes are not uncommon. 

Lionel Wafer, who lived among these Indians (whom he 
called Dariens) for four months, during the year 1681, 
describes the men as being from five to six feet tall, and gen- 
erally having gray eyes. "The size of the men is usually 
about 5 or 6 foot. They are straight and clean-limbed, big- 
boned, full-breasted, and handsomely shaped. I never saw 
among them a crooked or deformed person. They are very 
nimble and active, running very well. But the women are 
short and thick, and not so lively as the men. The young 
women are very plump and fat, well-shaped ; and have a brisk 
eye. The elder women are very ordinary; their bellies and 
breasts being penile and wrinkled. Both men and women are 
of a round visage, with short bottle noses, their eyes large, 
generally grey, yet lively and sparkling when young. They 
have a high forehead, white even teeth, thin lips, and mouth 
moderately large. Their cheeks and chin are well propor- 
tioned ; and in general they are handsomely featured, but the 
men more than the women. Both sexes have straight, long, 
black hair, lank, coarse and strong. The men wear it loose 
down the back, the women tying theirs together with a string 
just behind the head." 

Among the Dariens, Doctor Wafer encountered numerous 
albinos, with milk-white skins covered with short white down. 
The Buccaneers called these individuals "moon-eyed," because 
they could see best in the moonlight, when they ran skipping 
about like wild bucks. These Indians then lived in houses 
with mud-daubed walls, covered with thatch. Each member 
of a family slept in a hammock. Cooking was done in earthen 
pots, and over barbecues.' The Dariens made a simple 
nutrient beverage of corn-meal mixed with water, which they 
called Chicha; another drink of bruised corn fermented with 

^ In a dispatch dated at La Villa de la Frontera, New Spain, the 30th 
of October, 1520, describing one of Montezuma's palaces to the em- 
peror Charles V., Hernando Cortes says : 'There is an apartment 
in the same palace in which are men, women, and children, whose 
faces, bodies, hair, eyebrows and eyelashes are white from their birth." 

' When they wish to preserve meat, says Wafer, "they erect four 
forked sticks 8 or 9 Foot afunder, on which they lay two parallel 
staves that fhall be above a Foot from the ground, and fo make a 
Barbecue. Acrofs these staves they lay the pieces of the Beafts or 
Birds ; and fpread underneath a few live coals, to make which they 
burn a parcel of Wood on purpofe; and turn the fame pieces, and re- 
new this small Fire for three or four Days, or a Week, till the Meat 
be as dry as a chip, or like our fmoked Beef." 

Three hundred twenty-iouo 



THB ISTHMUS 

chewed maize, forming a liquor or beer called Chicha Copah ; 
and a third drink, called Mislazv, made either of fresh or 
barbecued plantains. 

The men wore nose-plates of gold or silver, which were of 
an oval shape, large enough to cover the mouth, with a piece 
cut out of the rim, allowing the points to pinch and hang 
from the bridle (septum) of the nose. When at war, or on 
the chase, they used a smaller plate. Instead of plates, the 
women wore rings, which went through the bridle of the 
nose, and differed in size according to rank and occasion, like 
the plates of the warriors. These ornaments were generally 
removed when eating, though sometimes simply raised up. 
The chiefs wore diadems of gold and small canes. Men, 
women, and children wore chains about the neck, made up of 
teeth, shells, and beads. These necklaces often weighed fifteen 
or twenty pounds. 

When a woman was confined, the female attendant took the 
woman on her back, and the child in her arms, and went into 
the river to bathe. According to Ariza, mother and child 
are then taken to the lele, or medicine-man, to be fumigated 
with tobacco smoke. According to the same authority each 
Cuna village has its ina or chief, and lele, who is at the same 
time priest, doctor, and magician. In time of war, the strong- 
est and most valiant man of the tribe becomes the urunia, or 
war-chief._ Another very important official is the camoturo, 
musical director and master of ceremonies. In their favorite 
dance, called the guayacdn, the camoturo plays upon the camo, 
which is a kind of flute, made of a piece of cana-brava. The 
men and women form a ring about the player, beat the floor 
twice with the foot, and advance two steps ; when they break 
the chain, and the couples come together and revolve rapidly 
in time with the music. 

In Wafer's time, the Dariens raised tobacco, and looked upon 
It as possessing many virtues. They used it principally upon 
occasions of ceremony, when a boy blew through an immense 
lighted cigar, driving the smoke into the face of each member 
of the assembly, the warrior forming a funnel with his hands, 
and inhaling the fumes with avidity. Dr. Wafer described 
these Indians as being cleanly and modest. 

West of the mouth of the Chagres river, we come upon the 
home_ of the Guaimi Indians, called also Codes, who now 
inhabit the remote and most inaccessible regions of the prov- 
inces of Veraguas, Chiriqui, and Bocas del Toro. The 
Gumims, like the Talamancas of Costa Rica who join them 
are descended from the Chibchas, or Muyscas. The Guaimis 

Three hundred twenty-three 



ABORIGINES OF 

were known formerly also as Dorasques, Terevis, Napas, and 
Changuenes. The missionary, Melclior Hernandez, who vis- 
ited Chiriqui Lagoon in 1606, found six distinct languages 
spoken in that region by tribes which he names as follows: 
Cothos, Borisques, Dorasques, Utelas, Bugabaes, Zunes, 
Dolegas, Chagres, Zaribas, and Dures. 

The people we call the Guaimis, or tribes of their ancestors 
known as Bugabas, Dolegas, Dorasques (Dorachos), etc., 
buried their dead in the graves we still call gitacas. Further 
south, as in Peru, they spell it huacas ; said to be derived from 
an old Quichua word, meaning sacred. This method of burial 
extended up into Costa Rica/ in the lands of the Terr abas 
and Talamancas. The guacas occur in groups or cemeteries, 
called guacales, the best known of which are those of Bugaba 
and Bugabita, two old Indian pueblos, about twenty miles 
west of David, in Chiriqui province. In 1850, a guaca was 
accidentally opened in the Bugaba district, and among the 
pottery and other objects was found a golden ornament. 
Soon, everybody was hunting for and robbing the old Indian 
graves. At this time, a fine collection of objects from the 
guacas was secured for the Smithsonian Institution, at 
Washington.* 

The writer has seen guacas all over Chiriqui, from near the 
seashore, up to the pretty little valley of Boquete, at an eleva- 
tion of 4000 feet. Graves are occasionally opened nowadays, 
but few contain as much gold as those first discovered at 
Bugaba. These old graves were dug from five to fifteen feet 
in depth, and the lower part lined with water-worn stones from 
the river. The corpse, or skeleton, was placed therein, and 
surrounded with various household objects and jewelry, which 
he used during life, and might need again. Pottery constitutes 
the greatest number of these objects, from the plain, unglazed 
cooking-pots and water-jars, to finely made vases, glazed and 
painted with figures. Other articles found in the guacas are 
metates, or millstones of volcanic scoriae, idols, tigers, and 
bears carved in basalt, celts of polished tufa, and odd triangular 
arrow-heads. 

' Properly speaking, the name of the old guacal Indians in Costa 
Rica was Guetares. Graves have been opened at Chirripo, Paramina 
near Cartago, and many other places. 

'Described by W. H. Holmes in the Sixth Annual Rep. Bureau of 
Amer. Ethnology, 1884-85. Since then, Professor Holmes has modified 
his opinion on the fabrication of these golden ornaments. Recently, 
he informed me that, while many were cast, and some hammered out 
of sheet gold on forms or molds, the complex objects, composed of 
numerous sections, were made by a process as yet unknown to us. 

Three hundred tzventy-foiir 




Courtesy of the Pan American Union. 

GROUP OF INDIANS. 




Bureau of American Ethnology. 

BASALT STOOL. 




Bureau of American Ethnology. 

PIEDRA PINTADA. 



I 



THB ISTHMUS 

The golden ornaments comprise figures of eagles, frogs, 
alligators, tigers, and human beings; or simply plates of gold. 
Some are of a fine quality of the precious metal, while others 
are made of a union of gold and copper, called tumhaga, said 
to occur as a natural alloy in certain mines. Objects of pure 
copper are found, some of which they plated with gold. These 
golden figures look as if they were made by moulding, or 
hammering, or both. Sometimes a few pearls are found, and 
rarely a specimen in jade or obsidian. 

Above and about the corpse were placed flat stones, which 
protected the friable objects, as well as the dead, from the 
earth and stones filled in above. Occasionally, the Indians 
would use special care to guard a delicate piece of pottery 
from being crushed. On account of the rainfall in this region, 
scarcely a vestige of the skeletons can be found. 

This method of interment must have continued after the 
arrival of the white man, as I have seen a few Spanish swords, 
iron hatchets, and horse-shoes; as well as native copies of 
European objects, that were taken from guacas, apparently 
the same as graves undoubtedly more ancient. 

These old graves are the chief souvenirs of primitive tribes, 
as there are no remains of dwellings or other buildings. There 
is nothing above ground to indicate the site of a guacal, and 
many are covered with jungle and large forest trees. In 
Chiriqui, we find also a few rocks engraved with figures and 
symbols. The most famous of these is the piedra pintada, 
near the town of Caldera. In Veraguas, Chiriqui, and Bocas 
del Toro, north of the cordillera, the ground is so completely 
covered with forest and jungle — excepting the banana planta- 
tions about Chiriqui Lagoon — that evidences of pre-Columbian 
habitation are seldom discovered. Northwest of Almirante 
Bay empties the Changuinola, or river of a tribe called the 
Changuines; the termination being derived from aula, the 
word for river in the Mosquito language. 

At the present time in western Panama, they speak of three 
tribes of Indians; the Guaimis, proper, the Valientes, and the 
Cricamolas. Besides the pure breeds, we find on the Pacific 
side, mixture of Spanish and Indian, or Cholos; and on the 
north coast, mingling of Indian with negro, who are really 
Zamhos. Most of the full-blooded Guaimis live in the elevated 



Three hundred twenty-five 



ABORIGINES OF 

valley of Miranda, amid the mountains of Veraguas, where 
they jealously guard their retreat from intrusion by whites or 
blacks. Like the Cunas, they do a little trading with the 
settlements, exchanging coffee, chocolate, rubber, and skins for 
cloth, arms, musical instruments, and gew-gaws. The Crica- 
molas occupy the region drained by the Cricamola river, which 
empties into the Laguna de Chiriqui. The Valiente branch of 
the Guaimis are so called from their bravery in fighting the 
Spaniards, and on account of the bloody duels in which they 
engaged on the slightest provocation. Formerly it was rare 
to see a Valiente whose body was not covered with cicatrices. 

The Guaimis, like most of the Indians from Arizona to 
Argentine, are smaller than the white man, but very muscular 
and strong. They are tireless on the trail, and can pack heavy 
loads, or carry a person, on their backs over the high mountains 
of western Panama. Their principal festival, called the 
balceria by the Spaniards, marks the beginning of summer. 
After a general bath, the women occupy several hours in 
painting the bodies of the men red and blue, and decorating 
their faces with the bizarre figures found on their ancient 
vessels. A loin garment of bark, and the skin of an animal 
complete the aboriginal costume. Then follows the dance of 
the men and the play with the balsa, a piece of light wood 
which the dancers fling in succession, sometimes causing grave 
wounds. 

When they believe one of their number about to die, the 
kindred carry the sick man to the forest, and there leave him 
with a few bananas and a gourd of water. After death, they 
extend the cadaver upon a wooden shed, and a year after- 
wards gather the remains and clean the bones, which they 
make into a bundle and inter in the family burying ground. 

In the fastnesses of the mountains live the Guaimi chieftains, 
one of whom calls himself Montezuma, and claims descent 
from the great emperor of Mexico to support his sovereign 
right to the soil. 

According to Valdes, the Guaimis number about 6000; and 
the Cunas not less than 14,000. In 1873, a law was passed 
compelling the Indians to adopt the usages of civilized life, 
which they observe when visiting the towns. 

One of the very first, as we know, to settle in Darien, was 
Vasco Nunez de Balboa, who, in one of his letters to the king, 
writes the following, — 

"Most Christian and most puissant Lord. 

Three hundred tzventy-s'x 



THE ISTHMUS 

"That which is to be found down this coast to the westward 
is the province called Careta, which is twenty leagues distant. 
* * * Further down the coast, at a distance of forty 
leagues from this city, and twelve leagues inland, there is a 
cacique named Comogre, and another named Pocorosa; who 
are at equal distances from the sea. They have many wars 
with each other. They each have a town inland, and another 
on the sea-coast, by which the interior is supplied with fish. 
The Indians assured me that there were very rich rivers of 
gold near the houses of these caciques. At the distance of a 
day's journey from the cacique Pocorosa's houses there are 
the most beautiful mountains that have ever been seen in these 
parts. They are clear of forests, except some groves of trees 
along the banks of mountain streams. 

"In these mountains there are certain caciques who have 
great quantities of gold in their houses. It is said that these 
caciques store their gold in harhacoas like maize, because it is 
so abundant that they do not care to keep it in baskets ; that 
all the rivers of these mountains contain gold; and that they 
have very large lumps in great abundance. * * * 

"From the town of Santa Maria del Antigua, in the province 
of Darien, in the gulf of Uraba, today this Thursday the 25th 
of January in the year 15 13. The making and creation of 
your Highness, who kisses your most royal hands and feet, 
Vasco Nunez de Balboa." — Navarrete, Coleccion, tomo III. 

Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes came to Darien 
with Pedrarias in 15 14, and for years was a royal and pro- 
vincial official. He was the first great historian of the Indies, 
and describes the natives of Castilla del Oro as greatly resem- 
bling those of Espanola and the other islands ; larger in stature, 
but of the same color ("de color loros claros"). In different 
parts, the chief was called guevi, tiva, cacique, or guajiro. In 
Cueva they called a woman ira, and a man chui. In the 
province of Cueva, next to the cacique in authority came the 
saco, and then the cabra or land-holder. The wife of a native 
lord was called espave, or lady. Some of these Indians dwelt 
on the sea-coast, others along the rivers and quebradas de agua, 
where were plenty of fish, their principal food, which they 
caught in nets. Wild hogs and deer also furnished sustenance. 
The chiefs took as many wives as they wished. When the 
eldest son had no male heir the inheritance went to the eldest 
daughter, who married her principal vassal. Immediately after 
child-birth, the mother went to the river and bathed, and in a 
few days was strong again. The women avoided pregnancy 
because it made the breasts flaccid; firm out-standing breasts 

Three hundred tzventy-seven 



ABORIGINES OF 

being considered a mark of beauty. The fine ladies of the 
Isthmian tribes raised their pendent members with a golden sup- 
port, a palm and a half in length, and beautifully worked, 
suspended by cotton cords passing over the shoulders and 
under the arms, valued at over 200 castellanos. 

The men were without beards, and both sexes had little hair 
on the body except on their heads. Males and females wore 
the hair half way down the back, where it was clipped off 
equally, and above the eye-brows in front. The chiefs painted 
the arms and breast, but not the face, as did the slaves. The 
Carib arrow-Indians (los caribes frecheros) of the coast about 
Cartagena took no slaves, and ate all they killed in battle. 
When some of the Indians of Tierra Firme, especially the 
Caribs, went to war, they carried large shells which they 
sounded frequently as trumpets, and beat drums. At this 
time the warriors wished to appear to the best advantage, so 
wore the hair in tufts on the head, and adorned their bodies 
with gold, jewels, and feathers. Some wives went with their 
lords to battle, and when a woman was at the head of a band, 
she would lead and command her people. A caciquess was 
called espave (que quiere decir sefiora). 

In many provinces both sexes went entirely naked. In other 
parts the women wore a mantle extending from the waist to 
the knees, "y los hombres traen un cahuto de oro los princi- 
pals, y los otros hombres sendos caracoles, en que traen 
metido el miembro viril, y lo demas descubierto, porque los 
testigos proximos a tal lugar les paresce a los indios que son 
cosa de que no se deben avergonzar." 

The Isthmian tribes lived in divers kinds of houses. The 
ordinary hut was the hohio ; when built in a rounded form like 
a pavilion it was called caney ; both being constructed of wood, 
canes, and vines, and roofed with grass or large leaves. A 
third style of house in Castilla del Oro was found in the 
province of Abrayme, where the land was inundated during the 
wet season. The people built their houses on the trees, which 
they ascended by means of steps made with bejucos, and where 
they dwelt secure from their enemies. These Indians went in 
canoes to the cleared elevated lands where were their maizales 
or corn-fields, and where they also planted yuca, batatas, ajes, 
and other vegetables. These people used no arrows, but fought 
with wooden spears or rods (varas). There was yet a fourth 
kind of habitation, especially in the great river of Sant Juan 
(Atrato), built upon the palm trees. Though adjoining 
Uraba, these dwellers were not arrow-Indians, but likewise 
defended their tree-top homes with sharpened rods. Never- 

Three hundred tzventy-eight 



THE ISTHMUS 

theless they inflicted considerable loss upon Vasco Nunez and 
others who went against them. 

The aborigines of Castilla del Oro slept in hamacas, ''que 
spn Unas mantas de algodon muy bien tejidas y de buenas y 
lindas telas ;" the women as well as the men were great swim- 
mers, passing much time in the water. For excess of blood 
the Indians scarified the arms and calves of the legs with 
delicate flints kept for that purpose. 

For leaders in war, in the chase, and in their games, the 
Indians of Castilla del Oro possessed tequinas, or masters in 
each pursuit. The tequina could talk with the devil, who told 
the master what to do and what was going to happen in the 
future. V/hen God disposed of events, says Oviedo, contrary 
to the predictions of the demon, the tequina told the people 
tlie devil was angry and had changed his mind, or some other 
lie. The demonio, or devil, was called by the Indians, tuyra; 
and in some parts the Christians, in honor and praise, were 
called tuyras, which, according to Oviedo, was a fitting name 
for some of the Spaniards, who behaved not as men, but as 
dragons and infidels, with no fear of justice human or divine. 
To the tuyra were offered aromatic incense, diabolical rites, 
and in some parts, blood and human beings. 

When the Indians of Tierra Firme, as did those of Espaiiola, 
gathered for an areito, they selected a tequina who lead the 
singing in praise of some dead chieftain, or in memory of the 
victories of the tribe. The rest joined hands, danced forward 
and back, and responded in concert to the intonations of their 
leader. At the same time, attendants plied the dancers with 
chicha ; the festival being kept up for hours, and many becom- 
ing drunk. 

Oviedo states that the skull of an Indian is four times as 
thick as that of a Spaniard, so when killing the Indians, the 
Christians were careful not to deliver the blow on the head for 
fear of breaking the sword. Probably for this reason. Father 
Valverde cried to Pizarro's men in Peru to use the point of the 
sword — "La Punta!" 

The principal chief always deputed a dozen of his stoutest 
men, either slaves or nahorias, to carry him when on the road. 
The cacique rested in a hamaca swung from a long, light pole, 
borne upon the shoulders of two Indians, who trotted over the 
hills with their burden. When tired, these Indians were relieved 
by two others; and, without stopping, the pace was kept up, 
often traveling fifteen or twenty leagues in one day. 

When a great lord died, his women and servants killed 
themselves and were interred with the chief, some maize and 

Three hundred twenty-nine 



ABORIGINES OP 

a small macana being put in the grave. The tuyra accom- 
panied the soul of the dead to heaven. In other parts, they 
placed the body of the dead chieftain near a great fire, until 
all the fat and moisture were driven out, v/hen the desiccated 
remains were stored next to those of his father in a special 
apartment of his house. The number of dried bodies showed 
how many lords had been in that state, and the order in which 
they had ruled. 

In the province of Parise (Paris) the chief and principal 
men ate no meat, like friars; hence plenty of deer in that 
country. Pedro Godines Osorio, governor of Veragua, states 
that the Indians of the Guaymi valley used a drink, and got 
drunk, from masamorra, made from yuca and pine-apples. 

Of the natives across the gulf of Darien, in the province of 
Uraba, Pedro Cieza de Leon writes : "The lords or caciques 
are obeyed and feared by the Indians, and their women are 
the prettiest and most lovable of any that I have seen in the 
Indies. They are clean in their eating, and have none of the 
dirty habits of other nations. These Indians have small vil- 
lages, and their houses are like long sheds. They sleep in 
hammocks and use no other sort of bed. Their land is fertile 
and abundantly supplied with provisions, such as well tasted 
roots. There are also herds of small pigs [peccaries] which 
are good eating, and many great tapirs, said by some to be of 
the shape and form of zebras ; abundance of turkeys and other 
birds, plenty of fish in the rivers, and tigers, which kill the 
Indians and commit havoc amongst their beasts. There are 
also very large serpents and other creatures in the dense 
forests, the names of which we know not. Among them are 
the creatures which we call Pericos ligeros [sloths], and it is 
a marvel to see their fierce looks, and the torpid lazy way in 
which they move along. 

"When the Spaniards occupied the villages of these Indians, 
they found a great quantity of gold in some small baskets, in 
the form of rich ornaments. There were also many other 
ornaments and chains of fine gold, and much cotton cloth. 
The women wore mantles, which covered them from the waist 
to the feet, and other mantles over their bosoms. They are 
very pretty, and always go about decently dressed and combed. 
The men go naked and barefooted, without other covering than 
what nature has given them; but they have shells or other 
ornaments, either of bone or of very fine gold, suspended by 
a thread in front of their privates. Some of these that I saw, 
weighed forty to fifty pesos each, some more and some less." 

Three hundred tliirty 




Bureau of American Ethnology. 

DECORATED VASE FROM INDIAN GRAVES WITH COLORED ORNAMENTA- 
TION AS VIEWED FROM ABOVE. 



THB ISTHMUS 

These Indians wore quilted cotton for defensive armor, a 
practice soon imitated by the Spaniards, who found the climate 
unsuitable for cuirasses. They used a bow made of the wood 
of the black palm, a hrasa, or fathom, in length; and long 
sharp arrows anointed with a juice that was so evil and pesti- 
lential "that no man who is wounded with it so as to draw 
blood, can live, although it should not be as much as would 
flow from the prick of a pin. Thus few if any who have 
been wounded with this juice, fail to die." Cieza de Leon 
tells us that he learned from a cacique named Macavin the 
principal ingredients of the arrow-poison. They consisted of 
the roots of the pestiferous manzanillo tree, giant ants and 
spiders, certain hairy worms, the wings of a bat, the head and 
tail of a very poisonous fish; adding toads, tails of serpents, 
certain small apples, and other roots and herbs. All these were 
mixed together and brewed in pots over a great fire in a place 
far from their houses. The process was conducted by a slave 
girl of little value, as the fumes killed the person making the 
decoction. "With this evil juice the Indians anoint the points 
of their arrows, and they are so dextrous in the use of these 
arrov;'s, and draw their bows with such force, that it has often 
happened that they have transfixed a horse, or the knight who 
is riding, the arrow entering on one side and coming out on 
the other." 

Pascual de Andagoya, who arrived at Darien in 15 14, in 
the train of Pedrarias, writes as follows : 

"About thirty leagues from Darien [Antigua] there was a 
province called Careta, and another, at a distance of five 
leagues from it, called Ada. * * * These people were 
more civilized than those of the coast of Santa Martha; for 
the women were very well dressed, in embroidered cotton 
mantles which extended from the waist downwards, and they 
slept on beds of the same material. These dresses of the 
women reached down so as to cover the feet, but the arms 
and bosom were uncovered. The men went about with their 
private parts covered with a bright coloured sea shell very- 
well carved, which was secured round the loins by cords. In 
this way they were able to run and walk with great freedom. 
These shells were used as articles of barter with the inner 
lands, for they were not found anywhere except on the sea 
coast. The land is covered with forest, like that of Darien, 
though it is more healthy, and there are gold mines in many 
parts of it. * * * 

"The first province to the westAvard of Ada is Comogre, 
where the country begins to be flat and open. From this 

Three hundred thirty-one 



ABORIGINES OF 

point forward the country was populous, though the chiefs 
were of small account, being from a league to two leagues 
apart from each other. In this country there is a province 
called Peruqueta, extending from one sea to the other, and 
including the Pearl Islands and the gulf of San Miguel. And 
another province, which was called the land of confusion, 
because there was no chief in it, is also called Cueva. The 
people are all one, speaking one language, and are dressed 
like those of Ada. From this province of Peruqueta to 
Adechame, a distance of forty leagues still in a westerly direc- 
tion, the country is called Coiba, and the language is the 
same as that of Cueva, only more polished, and the people 
have more self-assertion. They differ also in the men not 
wearing the shells, like those of Cueva, for they go quite 
naked, without any covering. The women are adorned like 
those of Ada and Cueva. From these provinces most of the 
Indians were taken, who were brought to Darien, for as they 
were the nearest and most populous, no sooner had one captain 
returned from them, than another set out. * * * 

"In these provinces there were no large villages, but each 
chief had three or four, houses or more on his land. These 
were close together, and each man built his house in the place 
where he sowed his crop. The chiefs in these provinces were 
of small account, because there were many of them, and they 
had great disputes concerning their fishing and hunting 
grounds, in which many were killed. The chiefs, in their 
language, are called Tiha, and the principal men of the family 
of a chief are called Piraraylos. The brave men renowned 
in war, who had killed an adversary, or had come wounded 
from the battle, received the name Cahra, as their title. The 
people lived according to natural laws of justice, without any 
ceremonies or worship. The chiefs, in these provinces, settled 
disputes in person, and there were no other judges or officers, 
except those who apprehended prisoners. Their manner of 
judging was this : The parties appeared, and each stated the 
facts of the case. Then, without evidence from witnesses, 
and holding it for certain that the parties would speak the 
truth (for he who lied to a chief was put to death), the suit 
was determined, and there was no further dispute respect- 
ing it." 

Andagoya further tells us that the chiefs exacted no tribute 
from their subjects, receiving only personal service. They 
married one wife, when there was much drinking; and the 
chiefs took other women without any ceremony. The Indians 
had chosen men, called Tecuria, who were said to converse 

Three hundred thirty-tzvo 



THB ISTHMUS 

with the devil, whom they called Turia. These conversations 
took place in a small hut with neither door not roof. There 
were also sorcerers and witches, furnished by the devil with 
salves, with which they anointed those whom they bewitched. 

These Indians believed there was a God in heaven, whom 
they called Chipiripa, and that He sent down rain and other 
things. They knew of the flood of Noah, and said that he 
escaped in a canoe with his wife and sons, and that they 
peopled the earth. When a chief died, he was either buried, 
along with his favorite women, or else his body was dried and 
hung up in his palace. The next year, on the anniversary of 
the day that he died, his desiccated remains were burnt to 
ashes, the smoke ascending to heaven, where his soul was. 

The Adelantado Pascual de Andagoya, who was a virtuous 
hidalgo and a man of education, closes his description of the 
character of the Darien Indians in words which would do 
credit to any so-called civilized people. 

"They have no ceremony or worship in this land, but they 
live by the laws of nature, keeping the laws not to kill, not 
to steal, and not to take another's wife. They know not what 
evidence is, but they hold it to be a very evil thing to lie. 
They also refrain from taking their father's principal wives, 
their sisters, or daughters for wives, because they hold it to 
be wrong." — Relacion, Navarrete, tomo III. 

And these are the people whom the Spaniards cruelly 
enslaved, roasted in the fires, or gave to the dogs to eat! 

Under the caption of this chapter may properly be included a few 
quaint, but accurate, descriptions of the animals of the Isthmus. 

"Concerning the Beftials of this Country, there is a great variety. 
Here are to be found many wild Hogs, and Deer in the woods, many 
Monkies, Mermofites and Baboons; here are alfo Tygers ; here is a 
beaft called an Ant-Bear, because it feeds allenerly upon Ants, which 
it doth, by fhooting forth its long tongue upon an Ant hill, and when 
the Ants have crept in full number upon it, this creature pulls in its 
tongue covered with Ants, and fo it lives. Here alfo is a remarkable 
creature called by the English a Sloath, and by the Spaniards Pigritia ; 
fo named juftlyfrom the dull sluggifh nature of it, being of a very 
flow motion; it is fomewhat fhaped like a cat, but of a larger body, 
and hath very long claws ; it is a great sleeper, and even when it 
moves, looks drowfy-like, as if it were half-fleeping. Here are alfo 
a great number of troublesome infects, efpecially the country is full 
of Ants, Wood-lice and Munketas, all of which are common through 
the West Indies." — Francis Borland, p. 15 (1700). 

Oviedo, the king's veedor in Darien, writes that the first Christians, 
on beholding the sloth, fixed upon the name Perico Ligero, or Nimble 
Peter, for the same reason that in Spain the negro was called John 
White. "Perico ligero es un animal el mas torpe que se puede ver 
en el mundo, y tan pesadisimo y tan espacioso en su movimiento, que 
parar andar el espacio que tomaran cincuenta pasos, ha menester un 

Three hundred thirty -three 



ABORIGINES OF 

dia entero. Los prinieros cristianos que este animal vieron, acordan- 
dose que en Espaiia suelen Uamar al negro Juan Blanco porque se 
entienda al reves, asi como toparon este animal le pusieron el nombre 
al reves de su ser, pues seyendo espaciosisimo, le Uamaron ligero." 

The historian goes on to say that the sloth kept quiet during the day 
in the topmost branches of some tree, but at night made a sound 
dififerent from that of all other animals, beginning with a high note 
and descending for six points, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah ; from which the 
old chronicler infers that the said perico ligero gave a hint to the 
first inventor of music to create his la, sol, fa, mi, re, ut. — Sumario, 
cap. XXIII. 

"The Country has of its own a kind of Hog, which is called Pecary, 
not much unlike a Virginia Hog. 'Tis black, and has little fhort Legs, 
yet is pretty nimble. It has one thing very ftrange, that the Navel is 
not upon the Belly, but the Back: And what is more ftill, if upon 
killing a Pecary the Navel be not cut away from the Carkafs within 
three or four Hours after fartheft, 'twill fo taint all the Flefh, as 
not only to render it unfit to be eaten, but make it ftink infufiferably. 
Elfe 'twill keep frefh feveral Days, and is very good wholefome Meat, 
nourifhing and well-tafted. The Indians barbecue it, when they would 
keep any of it longer:*' 

"The Warree is another kind of Wild-Hog they have, which is alfo 
very good Meat. It has little Ears, but very great Tusks ; and the 
Hair or Briftles 'tis covered with, are long, ftrong and thickfet, like a 
courfe Furr all over its Body. The Warree is fierce, and fights with 
the Pecary, or any other Creature that comes in his way. The Indians 
hunt thefe alfo as the other, and manage their Flefh the fame way, 
except only as to what concerns the Naval ; the fingularity of which 
is peculiar to the Pecary." — Lionel Wafer, 1699. 

Neither Wafer nor Borland mention that peculiar animal the tapir, 
or danta (vaca de monte), called beori by the Dariens, according to 
Oviedo. The following description of the tapir is by Herrera, as 
translated by Stevens : 

"The biggeft Beaft is the Danta, like a Calf, but thicker, the Loins, 
Legs, and Knees low, as the Elephant, towards the Feet; having five 
Claws on the fore Feet, three before, and the other two behind, and 
only four on the hind Feet : the Head long, the Forehead narrow as it 
were dented ; the Eyes f mall, the upper Chop hanging- down an handful 
over the Mouth, which it lifts up when provoked; f bowing the Teeth 
and Tuskes, being like those of a Boar; the Ears ftanding upright; 
the Neck clofe to the Shoulders; the Tail fhort, with few Briftles; 
the Skin fix Fingers thick, and being double about the Loins, can 
fcarce be grafped with the Hand, being proof againft any Weapon 
when dry'd. It feeds on Grafs, the Indians eat its Flefh, which is 
fweet, of whom they fay Men learnt to let Blood, becaufe when 
overburden'd therewith, it rubs the infide of the Legs againft the fharp 
Reeds, and bleeds as much as it requifite." — Herrera, vol. 4, p. 197. 

Don Antonio de UUoa, one of the members of a scientific com- 
mission, traversed the Isthmus in the year 1733, and has left us 
valuable and interesting accounts of what he saw and heard. Among 
the fishes, he describes the manatee as follows — 

"Another remarkable fifh here is the Pexe Buey or Baca Marina 
[sea-cow], so called from its refembling the land quadreped of that 
name. This is one of the largeft fpecies known in the river, being 
generally three or four yards in length, and of a proportional thick- 

Three hundred .thirty-four 



THE ISTHMUS 

nefs: the flefh is very palatable, and, according to fome, has pretty 
much the taste of beef. It feeds on the herbage growing along the 
fhore, but the ftructure of its body does not admit of its coming out 
of the water. The female has dugs for fuckling its young, and what- 
ever fome may have faid of any farther refemblance to the terrestial 
fpecies of that name, it has neither horns nor legs. It has indeed two 
fins, which ferve equally for fwimming, and fupporting itfelf on the 
banks whilft feeding." — Lib. VI., cap. V., pag. 513. 

While going up the Chagres, Ulloa observed the caymans, or alli- 
gators, in the river, and numerous monkeys in the trees overhanging 
that stream. Of the Monos, or monkeys, he writes, — "They are of 
various colors, as black, brown, reddifh and ftriated; there is alfo 
the fame diverfity in their fize ; fome being a yard long, others about 
half a yard, and others fcarce one third. The flefh of all thefe 
different kinds is highly valued by the negroes, efpecially that of the 
red; but however delicate the meat may be, the fight of them is, I 
think, enough to make the appetite abhor them; for when dead, they 
are fcalded in order to take off the hair, whence the fkin is contracted 
by the heat, and when thoroughly cleaned, looks perfectly white, and 
very greatly refembles a child of about two or three years of age, 
when crying. This refemblance is fhocking to humanity, yet the 
fcarcity of other food in rvLany parts of America renders the flefh of 
thefe creatures valuable ; and not only the negroes, but the Creoles 
and Europeans themfelves, make no fcruple of eating it." 

The first white men in tropical America were horrified to see the 
natives eat the flesh of a four-footed serpent, or dragon, which they 
called Iguana. In a very short time all the Europeans succumbed to 
the temptation to eat of it, and pronounced the meat to be as tasteful 
and delicate as that of chicken. Oviedo calls this lizard the Yu-ana, 
and notes that it tastes better than it looks. "Yu-ana es una manera 
de sierpe de cuatro pies, muy espantosa de ver y muy buena de comer." 
* * * "Que ni gime ni grita ni suena." More than a century later, 
when Ulloa arrived at Panama, he found the people frequently eating 
the flesh of a creature called the Iguana. 

"It is amphibious, living equally on the land and in the water. It 
refembles a lizard in fhape, but is fomething larger, being generally 
about a yard in length ; fome are confiderably bigger, others lef s. 
It is of a yellowish green color, but of a brighter yellow on the belly 
than on the back, where the green predominates. It has four legs 
like a lizard, but its claws are much longer in proportion; they are 
joined by a webb, which covers them, and is of the fame form as 
thofe of ducks, except that the talons at the end of the toes are much 
longer, and project entirely out of the webb or membrane. Its fkin 
is covered with a thin fcale adhering to it, which renders it rough 
and hard ; and, from the crown of its head to the beginning of its 
tail, which is generally about half a yard, runs a line of vertical fcales, 
each fcale being from one to two lines in breadth, and three or four 
in length, feparated fo as to reprefent a kind of faw. But from the 
end of the neck to the root of the tail, the fcales gradually leften, fo 
as, at the latter part, to be fcarce visible. Its belly is, in largenefs, 
very disproportionable to its body; and its teeth feparated, and very 
fharp pointed. On the water it rather walks than fwims, being fup- 
ported by the webbs of its feet; and on that element its fwiftnefs is 
fuch, as to be out of fight in an inftant; whereas on the land, though 
far from moving heavily, its celerity is greatly lefs. When pregnant, 
its belly fwells to an enormous fize; and, indeed, they often lay fixty 

Three hundred thirty-five 



ABORIGINES OF THE ISTHMUS " 

eggs at a time, each of which is as large as thofe of a pigeon. Thefe 
are reckoned a great dainty, not only at Panama, but in other parts 
where this creature is found. Thefe eggs are all inclofed in a long, 
fine membrane, and form a kind of ftring. The flefh of this animal 
is exceedingly white, and universally admired by all ranks. I tasted 
both the flefh and the eggs, but the latter are vifcid in the mouth, and 
of a very disagreeable tafte : when dreffed, their colour is the fame 
with that of the yolk of a hen's egg. The tafte of the flefh is fome- 
thing better: but though fweet, has a naufeous fmell. The inhabitants, 
however, compared it to that of chicken, though I could not perceive 
the least fimilarity. Thefe people, who, by being accuftomed to fee 
them, forget the natural borrow attending the fight of a lizard, delight 
in this food, to which the Europeans at firft can hardly reconcile 
themfelves." — Lib. III., cap. IV., pag. i66. 

In the city of Panama, Ulloa heard of the wonderful Dos Cabesas, 
or two-headed snake ; and also of the miraculous healing herb called 
Yerva del Gallo, or cock's-herb : — 

"It is conftantly afferted in this city, that its neighborhood produces 
a fnake having a head at each extremity; and that from the bite of 
each a poison is conveyed equal in activity to that of the coral, or 
rattle-fnake ; we could not have the fatisfaction of feeing one of this 
ftrange fpecies, though we ufed all the means in our power to gratify 
our curiofity: according to report, its ufual length is about half a yard, 
in figure perfectly refembling an earth-worm. Its diameter is about 
fix or eight lines, and its head different from that of other fnakes ; 
being of the fame dimensions with its body. It is, however, very 
probable that the creature has only one head, and, from its refembling 
a tail, has been imagined to have two. The motion of it is very flow, 
and its color variegated with fpots of a paler tint. 

"The herbe called Del Gallo, or del Polio, is so highly valued here, 
that they affirm, if an incifion be made round the neck of that fowl, 
provided the vertebra be not injured, on the application of this herb, 
the wound immediately heals. Whatever conftruction we put upon 
this pretended cure, it can only be confidered as a mere vulgar notion; 
and I mention it here with no other intention, than to fatisfy the 
world that we were not ignorant of it. During our ftay at Panama, 
we were very urgent with thofe who related this ftory to procure us 
f ome of the herb, that we might make the experiment ; but in this 
we were as unfortunate as in the matter of the two-headed fnake, 
none being to be had." — Ulloa, lib. III., cap. IV., pag. i68. 



Three hundred thirty-six 




^i. ( ,/RA\' CIS C/) 



RAKF., 



From Harris' Voyages, vol. 1, 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 



CHAPTER XX. 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Circumnavigator and Admiral. "The Master Thlefe oi the Unknowne 

Worlde." 

"Sir Francis Drake, and he was TWO 
And Devon was heaven to him. 
He loved in his heart the waters bine 
And hated the Don as the Devil's limi — 
Hated him up to the brim,l 

At Cadiz he singed the King's black beard, 

The Armada met him and fled afeard, 

Great Philip's golden fleece he sheared; 

Oregon knew him, and all that coast, 

For he was one of America's host — 
And now there is nothing but English speech, 
For leagues and leagues, and reach on reach. 

From California away to the Pole; 

While the billows beat and the oceans roll. 
On the Three Americas." 

WAIiliAOE RICS. 

RANCIS DRAKE' was born about 1540 in 
Devonshire, at Crowndale, near Tavistock. 
The place of his birth has been questioned; 
but Tavistock, in 1883, erected to his memory 
a colossal statue,^ a replica of which was put 
up at Plymouth in the following year. Fran- 
cis was the eldest son of Edward or Edmund 
(or Robert) Drake, a small county squire, 
who favored the Reformation. Sir Francis 
Russell (afterward Earl of Bedford) stood 
godfather for our hero, and gave him his 
Christian name, according to the custom of 
the time. 

^ "From among all moderns Drake's name stands out as the one that 
has been associated with almost as many legends as that of Arthur or 
Charlemagne." — L. K. Laughton, in Diet, of Nat. Biog. 

^ "In the town of Offenburg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, is a 
statue of a man standing on the deck of a vessel and leaning on an 
anchor, his right hand grasping a map of America, his left a cluster of 
bulbous roots, the meaning of which might puzzle the observer until 
he reads on the pedestal the inscription : 'Sir Francis Drake, the intro- 
ducer of potatoes into Europe, in the year of our Lord, 1586.'" Ban- 
croft's Works, vol. vii., p. 404. 

Three hundred thirty-seven 




SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Later, the father of Francis became a lay-reader to the 
sailors of the fleet, and went "to inhabit in the hull of a shippe," 
on the Medway, off Chatham, "wherein many of his younger^ 
sonnes were born ; hee had twelve in all, and as it pleased God 
to give most of them a being upon the water, so the greatest 
part of them dyed at sea." It seems that when Mary became 
Queen, Edward Drake lost his post ; but the accession of Eliza- 
beth secured for him the vicarship of Upchurch. By reason of 
his poverty, the poor churchman apprenticed Francis, at an 
early age, to the master of a small craft, part pilot, trading 
to the Dutch and French ports. The boy had rather a hard 
life of it, but it made him an able seaman, the foundation of his 
future greatness. "The youth," says Camden, "being painful 
and diligent, so pleased the old man by his industry, that, being 
a bachelor, at his death he bequeathed his bark unto him by will 
and testament." 

Young Drake continued the business for a short time, but, 
about 1565, he sold the bark, and went with Captain John 
Lovell to Guinea and the Spanish Main. Drake must have 
lost money on this voyage, as he speaks of the wrong he suf- 
fered at Rio de la Hacha, presumably perpetrated by the 
Spanish authorities. 

Spain at this time was the greatest power in Europe. She 
possessed most of the three Americas, and prohibited other 
nations from entering the Caribbean Sea or the Pacific Ocean. 
Captain John Hawkins, another famous man of Devon, cousin* 
to Drake, is generally credited with being the first English slaver 
to invade the Caribbean. Previous to this time, he had made 
two voyages to Guinea for negroes, selling them to Spaniards 
in the West Indies. This trade was carried on under a treaty, 
still subsisting, between Henry VIII. and Charles V., and was 
promoted by Elizabeth. 

In 1567, John Hawkins got up a third expedition, and took 
his kinsman, Francis Drake, with him. The squadron consisted 
of the "Jesus of Lubeck/' a large ship of 700 tons (loaned by 
the Queen), commanded by Hawkins; the "Minion" of 100 

* The Spaniards understood that Francis also was born on a ship, 
to which occurrence they ascribed his skill and daring as a navigator. 
"Su madre le habia parido en un navio." — Colec. de Doc. Ined., tomo 
8. p. 45. 

* The exact relationship is uncertain. This John Hawkins was the 
son of "Olde M. William Haukins of Plimmouth, a man for his wise- 
dome, valure, experience, and skill in sea causes much esteemed, and 
beloved of King Henry the 8, and being one of the principal! Sea 
Captaines in the West partes of England in his time." (Hakluyt.) 

Three hundred thirty-eight 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

tons (loaned by the Queen), Captain John Hampton; the 
"William and John" Captain Thomas Bolton ; the "Judith" of 
50 tons, Captain Francis Drake; and two very small vessels, 
the "Angel" and the "Swallow." On the 2nd of October, they 
sailed from Plymouth; and off Cape Finisterre encountered a 
gale which disabled the Jesus, and carried away the boats of all 
the ships. At Cape de Verde the General — as the commander 
of an expedition in those days was called — landed one hundred 
and fifty men,^ and captured a few negroes. Farther down the 
African coast about two hundred more were obtained; and at 
St. Jorge da Mina, with the help of a native king, the English- 
men raided a town of eight thousand inhabitants, securing two 
hundred and fifty men, women, and children. 

The fleet then steered for the Caribbean, sighted Dominica 
on the 27th of March, 1568, and coasted the northern shore of 
South America from Margarita to Cabo de la Vela, disposing 
of his cargo of slaves. At Rio Hacha, Hawkins was not per- 
mitted to trade; and deeming this an infraction of the treaty 
(and to settle old scores), the commander landed two hundred 
men and took the town, with the loss of two of his party. The 
Spaniards soon returned, and Hawkins was allowed to sell two 
hundred negroes secretly and by night. The inhabitants were 
glad and willing to trade in this way, thereby escaping the large 
import tax on negroes charged by the Spanish crown. 

Near Cartagena, where they were not permitted to enter, the 
vessels ran into a four days storm, which so battered the Jesus 
that her upper works were cut down. The fleet followed the 
current northward, around Cape Antonio and east to the Cape 
of Florida. Here they met a hurricane and were driven back in 
the Gulf of Mexico, and headed for San Juan de Ulloa,' the 
port of Nueva Espana (Mexico). In searching for this harbor 
(the present Vera Cruz), the Englishmen captured three ships, 
carrying passengers to the number of one hundred. 

The Spaniards at Ulloa mistook the English ships for a fleet 
daily expected from Spain; and Hawkins, in September, 1568, 
entered the port without resistance. The officials came aboard 
and were much dismayed when they discovered the nationality 

-- " Some of his men were wounded with poisoned arrows, and devel- 
oped tetanus, as seven or eight "died in strange sort, with their 
mouthes shutte some tenne days before they died, and after their 
wounds were whole." Hawkins had one of the greatest wounds, but 
lived; probably because the wound was large enough for the infection 
to escape. 

' Sometimes written Ulua, and even Lua. 

Three hundred thirty-nine 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKB 

of the visitors. '*I found in this port," writes Hawkins, "twelve 
ships, which had in them, by report, 200,000 pounds in gold 
and silver; all which being in my possession, with the King's 
Island, and also the passengers, before in my way thitherward 
stayed, I set at liberty without taking from them the weight of 
a groat." Hawkins assured the Spaniards he meant no harm, 
and sent a message to the Viceroy, up in Mexico City, that he 
had put in here by stress of weather, and requested victuals for 
his money, in accordance with the friendship existing between 
the English Queen and King Philip. 

The next day, a fleet of thirteen armed Spanish ships 
appeared off the harbor, commanded by Alvarez de Bazan, 
Captain Hawkins was in a quandary, but landed men on the 
island, and mounted guns to command the entrance. "I began 
to bewail that which after followed," says Hawkins, "for now, 
said I, I am in two dangers, and forced to receive the one of 
them. That was, either I must have kept out the fleet from 
entering the port, the which with God's help I was able to do, 
or else suffer them to enter in with their accustomed treason, 
which they never fail to execute, where they may have oppor- 
tunitie to compass it by any means." A northerly wind was 
prevailing, and Hawkins feared the Spanish fleet would be 
wrecked on the coast, involving a loss of six million dollars, 
which would involve his country in war. He decided not to 
provoke a quarrel between England and Spain by resisting the 
entry of the Spaniards, but to hazard trust in their promises. 

Accordingly, Captain Hawkins sent an envoy to the General 
of the fleet, advising him of his presence in that haven, and 
giving the Spaniard to understand that he could not enter until 
an agreement was arranged to guarantee the Englishmen from 
attack. On board the fleet was the new Viceroy for Mexico, 
Don Martin Enriquez, who, after some demur, gave a writing 
under his own hand and seal assuring the safety of Hawkins 
and his men, and their right to trade and buy provisions. For 
the keeping of the stipulations, ten hostages from each side 
were exchanged, and on the third day the fleet came in, passing 
salutes with the English. 

Bazan soon discovered that this was the very fleet of English 
ships he had been sent out to capture, and his forces were placed 
to the best advantage. On the second day, Hawkins, who sus- 
pected treachery, dispatched the master of the Jesus, Robert 
Barrett, who spoke Spanish, to inquire of the Viceroy the mean- 
ing of the suspicious movement of troops. Immediately the 
master was seized, a trumpet sounded, and the Spanish ships 

Three hundred forty 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

opened fire on the English. At the same time, Augustin de 
Villa Nueva, a Spanish gentleman who was sitting at dinner 
with Hawkins, attempted to kill the General with a 
poignard which he had concealed in his sleeve. The Spaniards 
boarded the Minion, but Hawkins and his men from the Jesus 
went to the rescue, and beat them off. The fight continued 
until night, when the Spaniards captured the battery on the 
island, and turned the guns on the English ships lying close by. 
The Spanish Admiral (or chief ship) was disabled, the Vice- 
Admiral burnt, and others of their fleet so much damaged that 
they could not do much harm ; but the captured battery cruelly 
beat the English with their own ordnance. Hawkins ordered 
the Minion under the lee of the Jesus to protect her masts 
from the fire of the battery ; and the Judith came alongside and 
took some men from the Minion during the night. The Span- 
iards then fired two of their ships, which they caused to drift 
upon the Jesus, when Hawkins and the survivors took to their 
boats and went aboard the Minion. The William and John, 
having her mainmast carried away by a chain-shot from the 
shore, was fired by her captain ; and the little Angel was sunk, 
and the Swallow captured by the Spaniards. The Minion and 
Judith took advantage of the land breeze, escaped the shots 
from the battery, and got out of the harbor in safety. 

The two vessels became separated the same night, and the 
over-crowded Minion, on which was Hawkins and most of the 
men, suffered greatly for food. Hides, cats, and rats were 
reckoned good food, and parrots and monkeys were dainties. 
Of the two hundred men, one hundred' were set ashore, with 
their own consent, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Mexico. 
The remaining hundred took on fresh water, and on the i6th 
of October set sail for home. After great dangers, much suffer- 
ing, and many deaths. Captain Hawkins arrived on the 25th of 
January, 1569, in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, and reported to Sir 
Wm. Cecil, Secretary to the Queen. 

The report of the Spanish treachery at San Juan de Ulloa, 
and the harsh treatment of English traders in the West Indies, 
roused a flame of indignation throughout Great Britain, more 
especially among the mariners of Plymouth and other ports. 

'These men suffered from starvation, Indian attacks, and Spanish 
cruelty. Twenty-three of the party were accounted for later. When the 
Inquisition came to Mexico the survivors were tortured and put to 
death for being heretics. Miles Philips managed to get back to England 
in 1582, and Job Hortop in 1590; and their narratives have been pre- 
served. 

Three hundred forty-one 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Philip of Spain was using all his subtle and powerful influence 
to aid the Papists in England, and overthrow the Protestants ; 
and these two nations were inevitably drifting to war. Eng- 
land's naval and military forces were too weak to openly battle 
with Spain; but her privateers and adventurous seamen were 
encouraged to invade the Spanish colonies, and secure a share 
of her rich commerce. 

Francis Drake, in the little Judith, got back to England a few 
days ahead of his commander. To the wrongs he had suffered 
at Rio de la Hacha were now added the perfidy and damages 
inflicted by the Spaniards at San Juan de Ulloa. Drake wanted 
recompense for his losses, and planned to take it where the loss 
was sustained. The disaster at San Juan de Ulloa was probably 
due to the weakness of Hawkins in telling of his voyages when 
dining at the palace. De Silva, the Spanish Ambassador, ques- 
tioned John Hawkins, and with information received from 
other sources, informed his government of the intended expedi- 
tion. De Bazan was sent to the Indies to catch Hawkins ; with 
the result we have recounted. Every student of history knows 
how Sir John Hawkins got square with Spain in his fight with 
her great Armada. 

Drake resolved to seek his vengeance secretly and alone. In 
1570, he sailed in two vessels, the Dragon and Swan, to the 
West Indies and the Spanish Main. In 1571, Drake made 
another voyage in the Swan alone. As we shall see later, he 
visited the coast of Darien, and is said to have lived in Nombre 
de Dios in disguise. On these two voyages, Francis Drake 
studied the coasts and ports, and learned the route of the gold 
trains across the Isthmus. Of course, Drake traded with the 
inhabitants ; and the business must have been profitable, for the 
Spanish Ambassador entered complaints with the Queen. Eliza- 
beth replied that Drake was a private adventurer trading at his 
own risk, for whom she was not responsible. 

We now come to what Drake himself calls his third voyage, 
meaning thereby the third voyage he had made to the Spanish 
Main as an independent commander.' Counting the first ven- 
ture with Captain John Lovell, and the second with Captain 
John Hawkins, this was really Drake's fifth visit to the Carib- 
bean. 

* Captain Drake may have been commissioned a privateer by the 
Prince of Orange, with whom Spain was at war ; otherwise he was 
simply a sea rover, trading, or robbing Spain as the occasion arose. 

Three hundred forty-two 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

"On Whitson Eve, being the 24th of May in the yeare 1572, 
Captaine Drake in the Pascha of Plymouth of 70 Tonnes, his 
Admirall, with the Swanne of the same Porte of 25 Tonnes, his 
Vice-Admirall, in which his brother John Drake was Captaine, 
having in both of them, in men, and boyes, 73 : all voluntarilie 
assembled, of which the eldest man was 50 : all the rest under 
30: so divided that there were 47 in one ship and 26 in the 
other, both richlie furnished with victuals and apparel for a 
whole yeare : and no lesse heedefully provided of all manner of 
Munition, Artillery, stuffe and tooles that were requisite for 
such a man of Warre, in such an attempte, but especiallie hav- 
ing three daintie Pinnaces made in Plimouth, taken asonder all 
in pieces, and stowed aboard, to be set up (as occasion 
served) set saile from out of the Sound of Plymouth with intent 
to land at Nombre de Dios."* 

With Drake went also another brother, named Charles, and 
John Oxenham of Plymouth. The expedition stopped three 
days at Dominica for fresh water and a run ashore, and then 
headed for the Main (Tierra Firme). On July 6th, Drake 
sighted the high land about Santa Marta, and a few days later 
anchored in a little port on the western shore of the Gulf of 
Darien; probably the Puerto Escondido of the maps. Drake 
had found this hidden port on a former voyage and named it 
Port Pheasant "by reason of the great store of those goodlie 
foules which hee and his companie did then dailie kill and 
feede on in that place." He saw smoke ascending, and on land- 
ing found evidence of recent occupation by Captain Garrett of 
Plymouth, who had been conducted thither by some English 
sailors who had formerly been with Drake. On a tree — so 
large that four men joining hands could not reach around it — 
was fastened a plate of lead, with this message engraven 
thereon : 

"Captain Drake, If you fortune to come into this port make 
haste away; for the Spaniards which you had with you here 
last year have betrayed this place, and taken away all that you 
left here. I departed hence this present 7th July, 1572. 

Your very loving friend, John Garret. 

Notwithstanding this warning, Captain Drake decided to 
remain ; and started in to put together the three pinnaces, which 
were finished in seven days. It seemed everybody knew of the 
little harbor, for the very next day three vessels came sailing 
into Drake's hiding place. 

' Sir Francis Drake Revived. 

Three hundred forty-three 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

"The next day after we had arrived, there came also into that 
Bay an EngHsh Barque of the Isle of Wight, of Sir Edward 
Horsey's, wherein James Rause was Captaine and John Overy 
Maister, with 30 men, of which some had bin with our Captaine 
in this same place the year before. They brought in with them 
a Spanish Carvell of Sevill which he had taken the daie before, 
also one shallop with oares which he had taken at Cape Blanche. 
This Captaine Rause, understanding our Captaine's purpose, 
was desirous to joyne in consort with him, and was received on 
conditions agreed upon between them." 

At Port Pheasant, Drake cleared three-quarters of an acre of 
ground by felling the great trees, which he drew together with 
pulleys and hawsers in the form of a pentagon, forming a forti- 
fication of trunks and boughs thirty feet high, leaving only one 
gate near the water side, which was barricaded every night by 
drawing a great tree athwart it." 

Drake did not tarry h^re long, and on the 20th of July, the 
entire party sailed westward in the direction of Nombre de 
Dios, and on the 22nd arrived at the Isle of Pines (Isla de 
Pifios). Here they found some black men, called Simerons, 
loading two Spanish ships with lumber for Nombre de Dios. 
These slaves told Drake that their people, the Cimarrones^ 
were threatening to attack Nombre de Dios, and that Spanish 
reinforcements were coming from Panama. This news made 
it necessary for Drake to get there before the garrison was 
strengthened by the additional troops. 

Captain Drake carried the slaves to the mainland, and put 
them ashore far enough from Nombre de Dios, so that they 
could not, by chance, communicate with the inhabitants ; "for he 
was loth to put the town to too much charge in providing 
beforehand for his entertainment." Leaving Captain Rause 
with thirty men at the isle of Piiios to guard the ships, Drake 
set out in the three pinnaces and the shallop, with fifty-three of 
his own men, and twenty of Rause's, "to atchieve what he 
intended." The seventy-three free-booters were armed with 
"6 Targets ; 6 Fire Pikes ; 12 Pikes ; 24 Muskets and Callivers ; 
16 Bowes and 6 Partizans ; 2 Drums and 2 Trumpets." 

In the afternoon of the 28th, Drake reached the mouth of 

" I fail to see for what purpose Drake built this fort, especially in 
the rainy season, and for such short occupancy. Drake could defend 
himself better on shipboard than on land in the enemy's country. 

" These Cimarrones, or hill-men, were the descendants of African 
slaves, who ran away from their Spanish masters and intermarried with 
the Indians. 

Three hundred forty-four 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

the Rio Francisco, five leagues east of Nombre de Dios. The 
party rested a few hours at Cativaas, and started out again at 
night ; intending to make the attack at daybreak. Drake made 
a speech, telHng his followers the Treasure of the World was 
before them, the garrison of the place weak and unsuspicious of 
their presence. 

At 3 o'clock the next morning, July 29th, 1572, the luur uttle 
vessels were in the harbor of Nombre de Dios. At that hour 
the moon arose, and disclosed them to a Spanish ship of sixty 
tons, loaded with Canary wines, which had just arrived, and 
had not yet furled her sprit-sail. The Spaniard immediately 
sent a boat to the town to give warning of their presence ; per- 
ceiving which, Drake cut in ahead of the boat and forced it to 
go to the other side of the bay. At the landing or platform was 
a sentry, who fled; and "the Towne took Alarum (being verie 
ready thereto by reason of their often disquieting by their 
neare neighbours the Symerons), as we perceived not onlie by 
the noise and cryes of the people, but by the Bell ringing out, 
and drums runninge up and down the towne." 

Captain Drake left twelve of his followers to guard the pin- 
naces, dismounted from their carriages the six great brass guns 
comprising the seaward battery, and then went to view the 
Mount, on the east side of the town, where he was informed, 
the year before, the Spaniards had an intent to plant ordnance, 
which might scour the place. Leaving half his company to make 
a stand, if necessary, at its base, Drake hurried up the hill with 
the other half of his men, finding no guns, but only a very fit 
place prepared for their use. Descending the Mount with all 
celerity, the Captain ordered his brother and John Oxnam 
COxenham) with sixteen other of his men, to go about behind 
the King's Treasure-house and enter the plaza from the east, 
Drake with the rest marching up the broad street, with trum- 
pets sounding and drums beating ; the fire-pikes of both parties 
frightening the populace, and giving light to the English. The 
Spaniards speedily gathered in the plaza and saluted the invad- 
ers with a "jolly hot volley of shot," and Captain Drake 
returned their greetings with a flight of arrows (the best 
ancient English Compliments, says Prince). There was a 
sharp hand-to-hand fight; when the Spaniards broke and ran 
out the Panama gate, "which had been built for a bar to keep 
out the Cimaroons, but now served for a gap for the Spaniards 
to fly at." 

Several prisoners were taken, and Drake made one of the 

Three-hundred forty-five 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Spaniards conduct him to the Governor's house, where was 
stored the silver brought over from Panama on the mule-trains. 
He found the door open, and saw a fine Spanish gennet, ready- 
saddled. A lighted candle on the stairway disclosed, on the 
ground floor, a stack of silver, judged to be seventy feet long, 
ten feet broad, and twelve feet high; each bar weighing from 
thirty-five to forty pounds, of the value of a million pounds 
sterling. Drake knew they could not get away with much of 
the silver, so sought the gold, pearls, and jewels, which he 
learned were kept in the King's Treasure-House ("a house 
very strongly built of lime and stone"), by the waterside. 
Upon arriving there, Drake told his men "That he had now 
brought them to the mouth of the Treasury of the World; 
which if they did not gain, none but themselves were to be 
blamed." 

Drake then commanded his brother and Oxenham, with their 
company, to break open the door; the remainder to follow 
him to the market-place to ward off attack ; but as he stepped 
forward, his strength, and sight, and speech failed him, and he 
began to faint from loss of blood. During the skirmish, the 
Captain had received a serious wound in the thigh, which he 
concealed from his followers, but which now bled so freely as 
to spread dismay among the English; "who thought it not 
credible that one man should be able to lose so much blood and 
live." His men gave Drake a drink, and bound up his wound 
with a scarf, at the same time begging him to retire.'" Drake 
commanded his company to stay and get the treasure, but they 
picked him up and retreated to the pinnaces. Many of the men 
grabbed some booty before leaving, else they had not been 
Britons. The garrison and populace were returning, the sol- 
diers from Panama arrived at this time, and the little band 
of English marauders were wise to retire before the Spaniards 
recovered from their surprise. One Englishman, a trumpeter, 
was killed ; and several, besides the Captain, were wounded." 

Drake's men boarded the Spanish ship in the harbor, took the 
Canary wine, and went to the Island of Victuals (Bastimentos), 
about a league to the west of the bay of Nombre de Dios. Here 
were the gardens and poultry-yards which supplied the town, 
and the English remained two days to tend their wounded and 

^Another account says a sudden rainstorm wet the powder, and 
cords of the English crosss-bows, rendering them useless. 

" Lopez Vaz, a Portuguese, states that only one Spaniard, looking out 
a window, was killed. In after years, the urchins of Nombre de Dios 
used to frighten their parents by shouting, "Drake is coming !" 

Three hundred forty-six 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKB 

refresh themselves. The Spaniards made no effort to go after 
the would-be robbers of the Treasury of the World; but an 
officer of the garrison, "called an Hidalgo," visited Drake at 
the island, and complimented him on the incredible feat he had 
executed vv^ith so small a force. He wished to know whether 
the English commander was Drake, who had been the last two 
years on their coast ; and if the English poisoned their arrows, 
and how they might be cured ? Drake knew the officer was only 
a spy, but made no secret of his name and courteously replied, 
"That he was the same Drake they meant ; that it was never his 
custom to poison arrows ; that their wounds might be cured with 
ordinary remedies ; and that he wanted only some of that excel- 
lent commodity, gold and silver, which that country yielded, for 
himself, and his company, and that he was resolved, by the help 
of God, to reap some of the golden harvest, which they had got 
out of the earth, and then sent into Spain to trouble the earth." 
The gentleman then asked, "If he might without offence move 
such a question, what should then be the cause of our departure 
from that town at this time, where there was above 360 tonnes 
of silver ready for the Fleet, and much more gold in value rest- 
ing in iron chests in the King's Treasure House? But when 
our Captain had showed him the true cause of his unwilling 
retreat on board, he acknowledged that we had no less reason in 
departing than courage in attempting." Drake dined the Span- 
ish officer and dismissed him with a present, and more fine 
words, as was the custom of fine gentlemen in those days. 

Captain Drake then returned in the pinnaces to the Isle of 
Pinos, where he had left the ships in charge of Captain Rause. 
The latter thought it unsafe to remain on that coast, now that 
they were discovered, and took his departure for home on the 
7th of August, much to the relief of Drake. From here the 
Captain dispatched his brother and Ellis Hixon to examine the 
Rio Chagre, where Drake had been the year before, to obtain 
further information of that river. This seems to indicate that 
he had some idea of getting to the interior of the Isthmus, and 
reaching Cruces on the Panama road, by going up the Chagres. 
For a sailor man, with "three daintie Pinnaces," this would be 
a very natural project. His brother's report must have been 
unfavorable; and the venture was left for Henry Morgan to 
accomplish, just one century later. 

Drake sailed away from Pifios with his two ships and three 
pinnaces, arriving at Cartagena on the 13th, and in the evening 
anchored in seven fathoms water, between the island of Caresha 

Three hundred forty-seven 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

and St. Barnarcls. He sailed about the harbor in the pinnaces, 
capturing Spanish ships, one being of 240 tons. "Meanwhile 
the town, having intelligence hereof by their watch, took the 
alarum ; rung out their bells, shot off about thirty pieces of great 
ordnance ; put all their men in a readiness, horse and foot, came 
down on the very point of the wood, and discharged their cali- 
vers in going forth." 

Cartagena was the capital of the Spanish Main, and it was 
now known that the English privateer, Drake — or Bl Draque, as 
they called him — was on the coast. It was not likely, therefore, 
that any ship of value would venture along the Main, from 
Santa Marta on the east to Nombre de Dios and Chagre on the 
west. The voyage had not yet been made, as the sailors say, 
and Captain Drake was considering another scheme whereby 
to secure "some of that excellent commodity, gold and silver, 
which that country yielded." 

This plan is said to have been suggested to Drake by a negro 
slave, named Diego, who ran away with the English from 
Nombre de Dios. It was to find out when the pack-trains 
started out from Panama with the silver and gold from Peru, 
and with the help of the Cimaroons to capture the treasure on 
the road between Panama and Venta Cruz, or between Panama 
and Nombre de Dios. It was now the month of August, the 
middle of the rainy season, during which time no bullion was 
transported, and it would be necessary to wait about five months 
longer before Captain Drake could execute his design. 

In pursuance of this scheme, the Captain decided to scuttle 
one of his ships, the Swan, in order to give him more men in 
the pinnaces. Knowing the affection of the crew for their 
gallant little vessel, Drake, partly by persuasion and partly by 
command, induced the carpenter of the Swan, Thomas Moone, 
to secretly bore three holes in her bottom. The next day, August 
15th, she was so low in the water that her stores were trans- 
ferred to the Pasha, and the Swan was set on firt to prevent 
her falling into the hands of the Spaniards. 

On the 1 6th of August, the Pasha and three pinnaces sailed to 
a remote harbor in the Sound "of Darien, which the men called 
Port Plenty because of the fish, deer, and wild-hog, in addition 
to their abundant stores and wines. Here they cleared a plot 
of ground, as at Port Pheasant, and built huts for shelter, one 
being large enough for their general assembly. The natives 
were friendly, and assisted much in the work. The smith 

Three hundred forty-eight 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

erected his forge ashore, and the Englishmen shot at butts, or 
played at bowls or quoits ; half working one day, and the rest 
the next. Drake kept still for fifteen days to silence the noise 
of their discovery, when, leaving his brother in command, he 
went in two pinnaces, to the Rio Grande (Magdalena river), 
being careful to keep out of sight of Cartagena. Two leagues 
west of the river, the Captain landed on the mainland and 
obtained some fresh beef from the Indians. Cruising about 
between Cartagena and Tolon (Santiago de Tolu), "they took 
six frigates laden with hogs, hams, and maiz ; of whom they got 
what intelligence they could of the preparations against them, 
and then discharged four of them and all the men, retaining only 
two well stored with good provisions." 

The 20th of October, the Spaniards sent out two frigates 
from Cartagena, without cargoes, expecting they would be taken 
by Drake, and hoping he would man them and sail away; 
instead of which he burnt one and sunk the other, all in sight of 
two armed frigates which refused to engage him. To show how 
little he feared the Spaniards, Captain Drake sprung" on shore 
in the presence of the garrison, who would not come within shot 
of his pinnaces. 

Exposure to the sun, the rains, and cool nights, caused sick- 
ness among the men on the pinnaces, and one of them, Charles 
Chibb, the tall quarter-master, died. On returning to their ship, 
November 27th, they found that John Drake and Richard Allen 
had been killed while attempting to board a frigate during the 
Captain's absence, using the other pinnace, called the Lion, and 
their only arms "a broken pointed rapier, one old fisgee, and a 
rusty calliver." 

With the onset of the dry season in January, the company fell 
sick of a calenture, "occasioned by a sudden change from cold 

" Generally interpreted as meaning the Gulf of Darien or Uraba, but 
doubtless the stretch of water within the Mulatas, generally included 
in the Gulf of San Bias. This will explain the easy communication 
with the natives, and Drake's marches by land. At least, Port Plenty 
was not east of Sasardi Channel and Caledonia Bay, and probably was 
at the island of Pines. When the Scotchmen came to Darien, as we 
shall see later, they communicated with a Chief Pedro, who lived in 
this region. 

"* "Our Captaine commanding the Grapnell to be caft out of the sterne, 
veered the Pinnace a shoare in their fight, to declare that he durft set 
his foot a land, but stayed not among them; to let them know, that 
though he had not sufficient forces to conquer them, yet he had suffi- 
cient judgment to take heed of them." 

Sir Francis Drake Revived, p. 36. 

Three hundred forty-nine 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

to heat, or from salt or brackish water" ; as many as thirty being 
ill at one time. Among the twenty-eight who died was Drake's 
other brother, Joseph, who died in the Captain's arms. That 
the cause of the disease might be discerned, Drake gave Joseph's 
body to be dissected by the surgeon, "who found his liver 
swollen, his heart as it were sodden, and his gutts all fair." The 
doctor concocted a remedy, trying it first on himself," "after 
which, once taken, he never spake, nor did his boy recover the 
health which he lost by tasting it, till he saw England." After 
the death of the surgeon, the sickness soon abated. 

Before his death, John Drake had established communication 
with the Cimarrones, and they now brought word that the plate- 
fleet (Galeones) had arrived at Nombre de Dios from Spain, 
and that the mule-trains would soon leave Panama. Leaving 
the invalids and a few well men to guard the camp and vessels, 
Drake started out on the 3rd of February, 1573, being Shrove 
Tuesday, with only eighteen Englishmen, to go over near the 
city of Old Panama and attempt to rob the pack-train. He was 
joined by thirty Cimarrones under chief Pedro, and they took 
up the march as follows ; four blacks in advance to mark the 
trail and act as scouts, the English in the center, with twelve 
Cimaroons forming the rear-guard. They rested during the 
heat of the day, from ten to two o'clock, and then marched 
again until four o'clock, when they generally arrived at a 
Cimaroon village, and rested for the night. Their native allies 
carried plenty of food, and wild hogs along the route supplied 
meat. 

Pedro told Captain Drake that on one of the mountains was 
a large tree, which formed a look-out, and from which both 
seas could be seen at the same time. On the seventh day they 
arrived at "that goodlie and great high tree," which had steps 
cut in the trunk, and a bower capable of holding twelve men 
built in the top. Drake ascended the tree with Pedro, and saw 
both the North and South seas just as the chief had told him. 
Francis Drake was thus the first English commander to view 
the Pacific ocean. He was so transported by the sight that he 
"besought Almighty God of His goodness to give him life and 
leave to sail once in an English ship in that sea." This was the 
nth of February, 1573. "From that time forward," says Cam- 
den, "his mind was pricked on continually night and day to 
perform his vow." Oxenham swore, unless beaten oflf, he 
would accompany Drake in that southern sea. 

"An overbold practice which few modern physicians would venture 
to do. 

Three hundred fifty 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Two years later, in 1575, John Oxenham ("John Oxnam of 
Plimmouth"), that daring young seaman of Devon, departed 
from England in command of a ship of 120 tons burden and 
70 men, bound for the coast of Darien. He entered the same 
port where last he had been with Drake, and communicated 
with the Cimarrones, or blacks, and found them still friendly. 
But they informed him that the Spanish treasure was now 
sent overland under a strong guard of soldiers ; so Oxenham 
abandoned the scheme to rob the gold-trains, and determined 
upon a unique and yet more daring enterprise. He lay his 
vessel ashore, concealing it with boughs, buried all his guns in 
the ground except two small pieces of ordnance, which he took 
with him, and set out across the Isthmus with his entire party, 
under the care and guidance of the negroes. 

After traveling twelve leagues, and passing the cordillera, 
they came to a river which ran into the South Sea. Like 
Balboa and Davila, Oxenham built a vessel, or pinnace, 45 
feet long by the keel, and sailed down into the Gulf of San 
Miguel, accompanied by six of the negroes. Passing out into 
the Gulf of Panama, the Englishmen cruised in the direction of 
the Pearl Islands, and in ten days captured a bark from Quito, 
in Peru, in which were 60,000 pesos of gold, as well as plenty 
of wine and bread. A few days later, Oxenham took another 
prize, froni Lima, containing 100,000 pesos of silver, in bars. 
The party then landed at an Indian village, on one of the Pearl 
Islands, hoping to make a rich haul of pearls, but found only 
a few. Leaving here, the English steered towards the main- 
land, dismissed the two prizes, and reentered the Gulf of 
San Miguel. 

Oxenham blundered in making his presence known to the 
people on the Pearl Islands, as no sooner had he departed than 
they hastened off a messenger to carry the news to Panama. 
The Governor displayed an unusual amount of energy, as 
within two days, he sent out four barks with 100 soldiers and 
a lot of Indians, under Juan de Ortega, to search for the rob- 
bers who dared to invade the sacred precincts of the South Sea. 
Going first to the Pearl Islands, the Spanish captain was 
there informed of the course the English had taken, and turn- 
ing towards the main shore, he came across the abandoned 
prizes, the uninjured crews and passengers of which directed 
him to the Gulf of San Miguel. Within the gulf, Ortega came 
to a river with three mouths, and was uncertain which way to 

Three hundred fifty-one 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKB 

take, when he descried a quantity of chicken feathers " floating 
down one of the branches, which he entered. The fourth day 
of his ascent of the river, Ortega espied the pinnace of the 
EngHshmen lying upon the sand, with only six men near, one 
of whom was killed, the others fleeing. Nothing but provisions 
remained in the boat, so the Spanish captain, with 80 men, 
followed a trail on the land, and after traveling half a league, 
arrived at a place covered with limbs of trees. Digging up the 
ground, the Spaniards recovered all the booty, which they 
carried back to their barks, intending to return to Panama 
without making any effort to search for the robbers. 

In the meantime, Oxenham had been informed of the pursuit 
by the Spanish soldiers, and hastened back with his men and 
negroes to retake the treasure. With more impetuosity than 
judgment, he attacked the Spaniards by the river's side. 
Ortega disposed his men to good advantage, and drove back 
the British, killing eleven of them, and taking seven prisoners. 
Only two Spaniards were killed, and a few wounded. 

It seems that Oxenham's men had demanded an immediate 
division of the gold and silver, before recrossing the Isthmus, 
which distrust offended the Captain, so that he would not suffer 
them to touch the treasure, and went aAvay to get the Symerons 
to carry it to the north coast. This dissension caused a delay 
of fifteen days, and brought about the failure of the expedition, 
and the death of nearly all the party. Oxenham came back with 
the Symerons just in time to see his booty vanish. 

Captain Ortega went back to Panama with the treasure and 
captives, very well satisfied with himself. The prisoners were 
compelled to disclose all they knew of the expedition, and the 
Governor immediately sent word to Nombre de Dios, giving 
information of where the English ship was concealed ; and 

" "Well, sir, on the seventh day we six were down by the pinnace 
clearing her out, and the little maid with us gathering flowers, and 
William Penberthy fishing on the bank, about a hundred yards below, 
when on a sudden he leaps up and runs towards us, crying, 'Here come 
our hens' feathers back again with a vengeance !' and so bade catch 
up the little maid, and run for the house, for the Spaniards were 
upon us. 

"Which was too true; for before we could win the house, there 
were full eighty shot at our heels, but could not overtake us ; never- 
theless, some of them stopping, fixed their calivers and let fly, killing 
one of the Plymouth men. The rest of us escaped to the house, and 
catching up the ladj'', fled forth, not knowing whither we went, while the 
Spaniards, finding the house and treasure, pursued us no farther. 

"For all that day and the next we wandered in great misery, the 
lady weeping continually, and calling for Mr. Oxenham most piteously, 
and the little maid likewise, till, with much ado, we found the track of 
our comrades, and went up that as best we might." 

Charles Kingsley, Westward HO! 
Three hundred fifty-tzvo 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

before Oxenham reached the Caribbean coast, his vessel, stores, 
and ordnance had been located and removed. 

The remaining Englishmen lived among the natives, rapidly 
contracting fevers and fluxes, and slowly making canoes, with- 
out tools, in which to venture away to sea. While so engaged, 
they were surprised by 150 soldiers sent to capture them by 
order of the viceroy of Peru, and fifteen sick men were taken. 
Ultimately, by reason of sickness and the treachery of the 
negroes, all the Englishmen fell into the hands of the Spaniards, 
and were taken to Panama. 

When questioned whether he had the Queen's license or a 
commission from any other prince or stat'e, Oxenham replied 
that he acted upon his own account and risk. He and his men 
were condemned to death, and most of them executed in 
Panama. Oxenham and his officers, with five boys, were car- 
ried to Lima, to be interviewed by the viceroy, where all, except 
the boys, were put to death. 

Thus ended the first transit of the Isthmus, and invasion of 
the South Sea, by Europeans other than Spaniards. John 
Oxenham has been called the First Buccaneer. Had he exhib- 
ited the same energy and enterprise in a legitimate undertaking, 
his name would rank with those other sailor men of Devon 
who won so great renown in the sixteenth century. 

On the 13th of February, Drake and his allies were well down 
the Pacific slope, marching through grassy savannas, and get- 
ting occasional views of Panama from the high points. On 
the 14th they could look down the great main street of Panama 
Vie jo, running north and south from the landward gate to the 
waterside. To an Englishman, barred from the New World, 
this sight alone was worth all the toil and suflfering it had cost. 
Drake was now looking into the very Holy of Holies of the 
Spanish Indies, the source of all Spain's wealth and arrogance. 
But what was more to his purpose, was the plate-fleet from 
Peru riding proudly at anchor off the city. 

Captain Drake then hid in a grove, about a league from 
Panama, and waited for the night, when a Cimaroon went into 
the city to gather news. On account of the heat, it was cus- 
tomary for the Spaniards to start out the pack-trains by moon- 
light; and the native spy soon returned with the information 
that three trains left Panama that very night. One was to 
carry silver; another provisions; and the third was a special 
train, accompanied by the Treasurer of Lima, consisting of 
eight mules, seven loaded with gold, and one with jewels. 

Three hundred fifty-three 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Drake led his men back within two leagues of Venta Cruz, 
and divided them in two parties^ placing one half on either side 
of the Camino Real, about fifty yards apart ; so as to attack the 
front and rear of the mule-train simultaneously, and allow none 
of the treasure to escape. The English put their shirts outside 
their other clothes in order to recognize each other during the 
expected melee. The Captain ordered that everything coming 
from Venta Cruz should be permitted to pass ; and that all must 
keep quiet. In about an hour a man and boy appeared from the 
direction of Venta Cruz, when a chuckle-headed Englishman, 
named Robert Pike," (over-zealous from imbibing too much 
stolen wine or native chicha) raised up to stop them. A 
Cimaroon pulled him back, and the traveler was allowed to pass 
on. This was a mistake; for soon the Spaniard was heard 
galloping rapidly towards Panama, and Drake suspected that 
they were discovered, and that an alarm would be given. 

Nevertheless, the Captain waited for a time, and soon was 
heard the tinkle of the bells on the lead-mare of a pack-train 
coming from Panama. When the mules were between the two 
parties. Drake gave a whistle, and the train was captured with- 
out resistance. When the packs were hastily opened, nothing 
but provisions were found. Captain Drake judged that he had 
been tricked by the Treasurer of Lima, and that the food train 
had been sent on ahead to develop the suspected ambush, and 
the soldiers would soon be coming up. With his small party, 
he could risk no further delay, or attempt to hold up the next 
train, which might be heavily guarded. 

After consulting with Pedro, the Captain decided not to 
return to his ships by the long and secret way by which he came, 
but to cut a road with his sword through the enemy. Perhaps 
the hope of finding rich loot in the warehouses at Cruces had 
something to do with his decision. 

Drake mounted his men on the captured mules, and English 
and blacks hastened to Venta Cruz. A sentinel challenged them 
and demanded Que gente ? Drake replied, Englishmen ; and the 
party rushed the town with strange English oaths and the 

" "One Robert Pike, having drunk too much Aqua-Vitae without 
water, forgetting himself, perswaded a Simeron to go into the road, 
and seize on the foremost Mules, and a Spanish Horse-man riding by 
with his Page running on his side, Pike unadvisedly started up to see 
who he was, though the Symeron discreetly endeavored to pull him 
down, and lay upon him to prevent further discovery, yet by this 
gentleman taking notice of one all in white, they having put their 
shirts over their cloths to prevent mistakes in the night, he put spurs to 
his horse both to secure himself, and give notice to others of the 
danger." Burton, English Heroe. 

Three hundred fifty-four 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

dreaded 'Y6 peho' of the Cimaroons. The Spaniards fired a 
volley, lightly wounding Drake and killing John Harris. Sol- 
diers and citizens sought refuge in the monastery, where Drake 
locked them up. He harmed no one, and destroyed no property. 
His men sought treasure about the town, but found little of 
value, though the Symerons got some good pillage. In Cruces 
at this time were three gentlewomen of Nombre de Dios, lately 
delivered of children, who were filled with much terror, and 
would not be comforted until El Draque himself assured them 
of his protection. In all his operations, Drake charged his 
men, and the Symerons also, never to hurt a woman, nor man 
that had not weapon in his hand to do them injury. 

Captain Drake passed the remainder of the night in Venta 
Cruz, and the next morning, February 15th, he marched over a 
bridge and was conducted north-eastward through the hills by 
his colored allies ; reaching his ships on the 23rd of the month. 
His camp had recently been moved from the first location, and 
was now nearer Nombre de Dios. 

Not wishing to remain idle, especially in the dry season, 
Drake inquired about other places on the Isthmus, and the 
Symerons told him of "Sinior Pezoro" [Sehor Pizarro], a rich 
miner of Veragua, who worked at least a hundred slaves in the 
mines. The blacks offered to conduct the English through the 
woods to the residence of Sefior Pizarro, which was a very 
strong house of stone, where he kept certain great chests full 
of gold. The Captain did not like to weary his men by the long 
march ; but in a few days, he captured off the Cabesas a frigate 
of Nicaragita, which had been at Veragua only eight days 
before, having a Genoese pilot familiar with that coast. This 
pilot told Drake of a vessel soon to leave Veragua, with above 
a million of gold aboard, and offered to conduct him to that 
place if the Captain would do right by him. John Oxnam had 
sailed to the eastward in the Bear, to hunt for victuals about 
Tolu ; so Captain Drake hastened alone in the Minion, under 
sail and oars, to the harbor of Veragua, intending to capture the 
frigate by night, and attempt Senor Pizarro's house later on. 
When about to enter the port, two signal guns were heard, 
answered by two other reports towards the town, which was 
five leagues within the harbor. 

The Genoese pilot judged the whole region was alarmed, as 
even in their beds the Spaniards lay in great and continual fear 
of El Draque. Being defeated of their expectation to surprise 
the place, and "that it was not God's will" to plunder the wealth 
of Veragua, the Englishmen set their sails to a westerly wind. 

Three hundred fifty-five 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

and steered back to the rendezvous on the San Bias coast. Here 
they found Oxenham, who had captured a frigate with a great 
store of corn, 28 fat hogs, and 200 hens. 

Soon after his return, Drake took in a party of French cor- 
sairs, numbering about seventy, under command of Captain Le 
Testu (Teton, the Enghsh called him). This more than doubled 
his force, and put him in good shape to undertake his next 
attempt on the plate-trains. The French brought the first news 
of the massacre at Paris on St. Bartholomew's day. 

His friends, the Cimarrones, brought in word that three train- 
loads of bullion were due to arrive on the first of April at 
Nombre de Dios. These trains, or reams, comprised one hun- 
dred and ninety mules, each loaded with three hundred pounds 
of the precious metal; making about thirty tons in all. 

On the 30th of March, with fifteen English, twenty French, 
and a band of Cimarrones (Symerons), Captain Drake sailed 
from his headquarters to the Rio Francisco, not far eastward of 
Nombre de Dios. He made a landing in the pinnaces, and 
leaving a few men to guard the boats, struck off through the 
jungle. The next night, March 31st, 1573, Francis Drake 
placed his men by the Camino Real, about a mile from the 
Panama gate of Nombre de Dios. In the still night they could 
hear the noises in the town, and the carpenters at work on the 
waiting plate-fleet in the harbor. As the sky heralded the 
approach of day (for there is but little dawn so near the 
equator), the welcome sound of the bell-mules was heard 
approaching from Panama. The entire train of one hundred 
and ninety mules is said to have been in charge of forty-five 
men. This time, French yells mingled with the English hurrahs 
and the cries of the Maroons. The allied forces poured in a 
volley of shot and arrows, which brought the lead mules to a 
stop; when the others promptly laid down under their heavy 
loads. The guards put up a short resistance, and then broke 
and fled into Nombre de Dios. Captain Le Testu was badly 
wounded, and later was left behind and taken by the Spaniards. 

Drake's party went through the packs and loaded themselves 
down with all the treasure they could carry. Fifteen tons of 
silver in bars were left behind, most of which they tried to hide 
in the bushes, and bury in the crab holes. It is claimed that 
some of the party returned afterwards and found the country 
dug up for a mile round about. The journey back to the boats 
was wearisome, and two Frenchmen, in addition to their cap- 
tain, were abandoned ; one of whom was recovered by John 

Three hundred fifty-six 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Oxenham. On the 3rd of April, Drake was back where he had 
left his pinnaces. They were not there, and looking towards 
the sea, Drake discerned seven Spanish shallops off the mouth 
of the river. The soldiers were on his trail, and doubtless 
armed vessels were out searching the coast, probably capturing 
his pinnaces. 

The situation was critical, and Drake took desperate means 
to remedy it. He made a rude raft with drift wood, erected a 
pole for a mast, and used a biscuit sack for a sail. The Captain 
took John Smith and two Frenchmen with him, and put out to 
sea. After sailing and rowing for about six hours, up to their 
middle in water, they were lucky to view their boats beating up 
against the wind. The pinnaces did not see the raft, and made 
for the shelter of a point, at which place to anchor for the night. 
Perceiving their intent, Drake ran the raft ashore, crossed the 
point of land, and joyfully boarded the pinnaces. The next 
morning he took on his men and treasure in the Rio Francisco, 
and proceeded to his ships in the Samballas. 

The voyage was made, and now for home. Captain Drake 
possessed a rich scimitar, given him by the unfortunate Captain 
he Testu, to which Pedro took a great fancy. In parting with 
the Cimaroons, Drake presented the coveted weapon to their 
chief ; and the latter was so transported with joy that he forced 
the Captain to accept from him four wedges of gold, looted 
from the pack-train. Drake refused the gold for himself, but 
threw it into the common stock, observing, "That it was only just 
that those who bore part of the charge with him in setting him 
to sea, and in sharing in all the dangers, should likewise enjoy 
their full proportion of tlie advantage at his return." An obser- 
vation expressive of his generous nature, which accounted 
largely for the zeal with which he was followed. 

The English took leave of the French in great amity, and 
steered a direct course for home, making the passage from Cape 
Florida to the Scilly Isles in the quick time of twenty-three 
days." They arrived at Plymouth on Sunday the 9th of August, 
1573, during sermon time. "The news of Drake's return did 
so speedily pass over all the church and surpass their minds with 
desire and delight to see him, that very few or none remained 
with the preacher, all hastening to see the evidence of God's 
love and blessing towards our gracious Queen and country." 

"Navigators had learned to follow the Gulf Stream out of the 
Carribbean, passing around the west end of Cuba, and through the 
Strait of Florida ; thereby avoiding the equatorial currents and northeast 
trades, against which the early voyagers battled on their return to 
Europe. 

Three-hundred fifty-seven 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Francis Drake did so many fine things that one is tempted to 
follow in detail his fascinating career. But we will merely out- 
line the events of the intervening years, until he again invades 
the dominions of Spain in the New World. 

Upon his return to England in 1573, Drake volunteered for 
service in Ireland. He fitted out three frigates with men and 
munitions at his own expense, and joined the forces under the 
Earl of Essex ; "where he did excellent service both by sea and 
land, at the winning of divers strong forts." 

In the year 1520, Fernao de Magelhaes, a Portuguese navi- 
gator in the service of Charles V. of Spain, had solved the secret 
of a passage in the Western Hemisphere by sailing through the 
Strait which ever since has borne his name. For many days 
he sailed to the west, showed for the first time the immensity of 
that South Sea (which he renamed Pacific), and then came to 
an untimely end at the hands of the natives on the little island 
of Matan in the Philippine Archipelago. By gift from the Pope, 
by the discovery of the South Sea by Balboa, and by the voyage 
of Magellan, Spain claimed this vast ocean for her very own 
and held it inviolate. 

Ever since his view of the forbidden sea, Drake had been 
itching to sail an English ship thereon. He believed where a 
Portuguese sailor could go an Englishman might follow. After 
his adventures in Ireland, Drake came back and fitted out a 
squadron for the Mediterranean, as he announced. The Span- 
iards thought it meant another attack on the Treasure of the 
World, at Nombre de Dios. The vessels were the Pelican, 100 
tons. Captain Drake; the Elisabeth, 80 tons. Captain John 
Winter ; the Marigold, 30 tons. Captain John Thomas ; the 
Swan, flyboat, 50 tons. Captain John Chester ; the Christopher, 
pinnace, 15 tons, Captain Thomas Moone; carrying 163 men in 
all. Drake made a final departure from Plymouth on the 13th of 
December, 1577, touched at the Cape Verd islands, took the 
pilot, Nuno da Silva, from a Portuguese ship, and steered for 
Brazil and the Plate river. Drawing near the equator, Drake, 
being always very careful of his men's health, let every one of 
them blood with his own hand. 

On the 20th of June, 1578,, the flieet anchored in Port St. 
Julian on the coast of Patagonia. The first object which met 
the sight of the Englishmen was a bleached skeleton, dangling 
from a gibbet on the main shore, opposite the island; the 
remains of some mutineers executed by Magellan, fifty-eight 
years before. While here, forty of Drake's best men tried Mr. 
Thomas Doughty for conspiring to overthrow Captain Drake, 

Three hundred fifty-eight 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKB 

and adjudged that he deserved death. Drake partook of the 
Holy Communion with him, Hke a Christian; dined and wined 
him, like a gentleman; and then chopped his head off with his 
own hands. 

Reducing his fleet to the Pelican, the Elizabeth, and the 
Marigold, Francis Drake entered the eastern mouth of the 
Strait"" of Magellan on the 20th of August. To note the 
momentous occasion, the General (as Drake was designated) 
changed the name of the Pelican to Golden Hind, in reference 
to the crest of his friend and patron, Sir Christopher Hatton; 
and caused the ships to strike their topsails in homage to Queen 
Elizabeth. "Which ceremonies being ended, with a sermon and 
prayers of thanksgiving, they entered the narrow strait with 
much wind, frequent turnings, and many dangers. They 
observed on one side an island like Fogo,^ burning aloft in the 
air in a wonderful sort without intermission." 

The passage of the Strait was made in sixteen days, Drake 
often going ahead in a boat to take soundings. On passing out 
of the Strait, as frequently happens, the vessels encountered 
stormy weather, and the little Marigold was swamped with all 
hands. On October 8th, Captain Winter, on the Elizabeth, 
reentered the Strait, deserted the General, and returned home, 
leaving Drake's ship "3. Pelican alone in the wilderness." Drake 
was driven as far as 57 degrees south in the neighborhood of 
Cape Horn, but by the 25th of November, he was at the island 
of Macho, twenty degrees nearer the equator. Mistaking them 
for Spaniards, the natives killed two Englishmen, and shot the 
General in the face and head. 

An Indian pilot, named Felipe, showed the way to Valparaiso, 
where the Pelican was supplied with stores, provisions and 
wines. From a Spanish ship lying there, Drake took the Greek 
pilot, Juan Griego, to show the way to Lima. In looking for 
water at Tarapaca, the English found a sleeping Spaniard, and 
nearby, a stack of silver. At another place they robbed a llama- 

^ The pinnance, containing eight men, was lost. These men made a 
landing on Tierra del Fuego, and later reached the Plate River. Four 
were killed by Indians, and afterwards two more died, leaving only 
William Pitcher and Peter Carder. The former succumbed, when suf- 
fering from thirst, from drinking too much water. Carder was adopted 
by some cannibal Indians, and arrived at Bahia, where he was arrested. 
A friendly Portuguese aided him to escape, and Carder finally reached 
England in 1586, when Lord Howard introduced him to Queen 
Elizabeth. 

^ Meaning like the volcanic island of Fogo, one of the Cape Verd 
Islands, which they had passed on the voyage out. 

Three hundred fifty-nine 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

train, each animal being loaded wth a hundred pounds of silver. 
At sea, barks were captured, and usually bullion was secured. 
And so it continued all the way up the coast. 

On the 15th of February, 1579, Drake reached Callao, the 
port of Lima, where resided the Viceroy of Peru, Don Fran- 
cisco de Toledo. About thirty Spanish vessels were in the 
harbor, which were plundered without resistance. Drake 
destroyed no property, and when he learned that the plate-ship 
had sailed for Panama on February 2nd, he decided to attempt 
to overtake her. Had Drake known that his faithful follower, 
John Oxenham, had been hung but a few miles away, it is likely 
that he would have burnt the shipping before leaving. The 
proper name of the treasure galleon was Nuestra Senora de la 
Concepcion, but she was commonly called the "Cacafuego" (or 
"Spitfire," as we would say in English), and was commanded 
by Juan de Anton. While in pursuit of her, Drake boarded a 
brigantine, and took eighty pounds of gold, a golden crucifix, 
and some emeralds. 

On March ist, off Cape San Francisco, about a hundred and 
fifty leagues from Panama, the Golden Hind caught up with 
the Cacafuego, and Drake poured in a broadside and boarded 
her after dark. The next few days the treasure was trans- 
ferred.^ It consisted of 26 tons of silver, 80 pounds of gold, 
13 chests of money, and jewels. There was consternation along 
the coast when it was learned that El Draque was in the South 
Sea. Two armed vessels from Lima, and one from Panama 
came up with Drake, but declined to fight. The man who 
invaded the Isthmus, braved the terrors of the Strait, and stole 
the King's treasure at will, was not one to be idly assailed. 

The Golden Hind kept on sailing northward, past the Gulf of 
Panama, and up the coast of Central America. On April 4th, 
Drake captured a ship from Acapulco, and took from her 
owner, Don Francisco de Carate, the celebrated "falcon of gold, 
handsomely wrought, with a great emerald set in the breast 
of it." He put in at Acapulco, the western port of New Spain 
(Mexico), and refitted the Golden Hind in Canoas Bay. Cap- 
tain Drake had a notion of trying to find a passage to the north 

^'John Drake (son of Bernard), probably a nephew of the General, 
was in the Hind, and won a gold chain for being the first to sight the 
treasure ship. When the English cast off the Cacafuego, the boy of Don 
Francisco, the Spanish pilot, said to Drake : "Captaine, our ship shall be 
called no more the Cacafuego, but the Cacaplata,, and your shippe shall 
bee called the Cacafuego : which pretie speach of the pilots boy minis- 
tered matter of laughter to us, both then and long after." — World 
Encompassed. 

Three hundred sixty 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

of America, and sailed up the California coast as far as 43 
degrees north, when he abandoned the idea on account of the / /" 
cold. He knew the Spaniards would be watching the Isthmus, ^ 
and the Strait of Magellan ; so determined to attempt to reach 
home by way of the Moluccas and Cape of Good Hope. 

Captain Drake sailed back to a harbor in about latitude 38 
degrees north, thought by some to be San Francisco Bay, but 
probably north of that port. The white cliffs reminded him of 
home, and he called the country New Albion, and took posses- 
sion for the Queen. The natives were gentle and friendly, and 
seemed to adore the white strangers. The Golden Hind was 
refitted again, and on the 23rd of July, 1579, she sailed out of 
Port Albion (or Port Drake) on the long voyage home. The 
next day, the island of St. James (probably the Farallons) was 
passed; and then for sixty-eight days they saw no land. On 
September 30th, they fell in with islands 8 degrees north, prob- 
ably Pelew islands; and the 21st of October, they got fresh 
water on the large island of Mindanao, in the Philippine group. 
Drake then sailed to the Moluccas, and exchanged courtesies 
with the King. He landed his men on Crab island in the 
Celebes, and repaired the ship. 

Drake's good fortune nearly deserted him, when, on the 
night of the 9th of January, 1580, the good ship Golden Hind 
ran on a reef and stuck fast. When day came, all hands fell 
prostrate in prayer, and then threw overboard eight cannon, 
three tons of cloves, "and certaine meale and beanes" — but none 
of the heavy bullion. After being hard and fast for twenty 
hours, the gallant little ship fell on her side at low water, and 
slipped off the reef with a sound hull."" March loth, Drake 

^ While the Hind was fast on the reef, Mr. Fletcher, their minister, 
made them a sermon, and all received the communion ; "and then every 
theefe reconciled him selfe to his fello theefe." Nevertheless, shortly 
after they were come off the rock, Drake fastened his chaplain by one 
leg tp.a staple in the forecastle hatch, and excommunicated him with 
a pair of panto%s, or slippers; at the same time binding this legend 
about his arm : "Francis Fletcher, the falsest knave that liveth." The 
company being called together, "and Drake sytting cros legged on a 
chest, and a peire of pantoffles in his hand, liee said Frances Fletcher, I 
doo heere excommunicate the out of ye Church of God, and from all 
the benefites and graces thereof, and I denounce the to the divell and 
all his angells ; and then he charged him upon payne of death not once 
to come before the mast, for if hee did, he sware hee should be hanged ; 
and Drake cawsed a posy to be written and bond about Fletcher's 
arme, with chardge that if hee tooke it of hee should then be hanged. 
The poes was, Frances Fletcher, ye falsest knave that liveth." 

Memorandum to World Encompassed. 

Three hundred sixty -one 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

anchored at the south side of Java, and on the 26th of the same 
month he laid a course for the Cape of Good Hope, which was 
passed on the 15th of June. July 22nd, they put in at Sierra 
Leone for water and provisions, and then no more stops until 
they arrived at Plymouth, the port from which they started. 
Drake reached home on Monday the 26th of September, 1580, 
which according to his reckoning should have been the preceed- 
ing Sunday. 

Francis Drake was the first EngHshman, and the second of 
any country, to circumnavigate the globe. The mayor and 
people of Plymouth turned out to greet their famous mariner, 
and the bells of St. Andrew's Church pealed a joyous welcome. 
In a short time Drake took his ship around to Deptford, and 
waited to hear from the court. England went wild in his praise, 
but Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador, insisted that Drake be 
punished, and the spoils delivered to him."* The Queen kept 
silent for a few months, but on April 4th, 1581, after dining at 
Deptford, she visited the Golden Hind, and knighted Francis 
Drake on the deck of his ship. One enthusiastic Briton wished 
to place the ship on the top of St. Paul's ; but at the Queen's 
desire, the Golden Hind was preserved in a dock at Deptford, 
and for many years was an object of admiration, and an eating 
place for merry-makers. 

In 1582, Sir Francis Drake was made mayor of Plymouth; 
and in 1584, he was member of Parliament for Bossiney. 

The successes of Drake and other English seamen, induced 
EHzabeth to plan reprisals to offset the insults to her subjects, 
and the embargo on English goods perpetrated by her brother- 
in-law, Philip of Spain. Sir Francis was commissioned an 
Admiral, and ordered to gather a fleet of twenty-five ships, to 
sail to the Caribbean, and harass Spain in her weakest points. 
With Drake went Martin Frobisher as Vice- Admiral, and Fran- 
cis Knollys as Rear-Admiral. This was a combined naval and 
military expedition of about twenty-three hundred men ; the 
land forces being under Lieutenant-General Christopher Car- 
lile (Carleill). 

On the 14th of September, 1585, the fleet left Plymouth, and 
sailed down the coast of Spain to the Canaries. The English 
spent two weeks at St. Jago and Porta Praya in the Cape de 

^ "Indeed, of the treasure which Drake had amassed, some portion 
was actually repaid to Don Pedro Sebura, who acted as agent for the 
parties interested ; but who, nevertheless, it is said by Camden, never 
himself gave it back to the rightful owners." W. S. W. Vaux, Intro- 
duction to World Bncompassed, Hakluyt Society. 

Three hundred sixty-two 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Verd islands, where the only thing they got was a pestilence, 
from which two or three hundred men died. At Dominica, 
which was reached in eighteen days, the Caribs assisted in 
watering the ships. The English passed Christmas at St. Chris- 
topher's (St. Kitts), which they found uninhabited. 

The expedition then proceeded to Hispaniola, being allured 
thither by the glorious fame of the city of St. Domingo, being 
the ancientest and chief inhabited place in all the tract of coun- 
try thereabouts. New Year's Day, 1586, General Carlile, with 
twelve hundred men, landed at a convenient place about ten 
miles from the city, and marched on St. Domingo. About one 
hundred and fifty horsemen came out to oppose them, but 
hastily retired. Carlile placed half his force under Captain 
Powell, and the two divisions stormed the two sea-ward gates 
at the same time and gained the plaza. The English troops did 
not take the citadel, but held the town for a month, demanding 
ransom. The Spaniards being very slow in coming to terms, 
two hundred sailors spent several days in trying to burn the 
houses, finding "no small travail to ruin them, being very mag- 
nificently built of stone, with high lofts." It is said that Drake 
spared the cathedral because it held the ashes of Admiral 
Christopher Columbus. 

Admiral Drake was particularly incensed at a haughty paint- 
ing and motto which he saw in the Governor's house, wherein 
"there is described and painted in a very large Scutcheon the 
arms of the king of Spaine, and in the lower part of the said 
Scutcheon, there is described a Globe, conteining in it the whole 
circuit of the sea and the earth whereupon is a horse standing 
on his hindes part within the Globe, and the other fore-part 
without the globe, lifted up as it were to leape, with a scroll 
painted in his mouth, wherein was written these words in Latin, 
N'on sicfficit orbis; which is as much as to say, as the world 
sufficeth not." The English would point out this device to the 
Spanish officials sent to negotiate with them, and sarcastically 
inquire what it meant ; "at which they would shake their heads 
and turn aside their faces, in some smiling sort, without 
answering anything, as if ashamed thereof." 

Drake finally accepted 25,000 ducats, in addition to their 
loot ; and stood over to the mainland, keeping along the coast 
till he came to Cartagena. The ships entered the harbor about 
three miles westward of the city. Carlile landed and drove back 
two squadrons of Spanish horse, and then attacked the gateway, 
barricadoed with wine butts filled with earth, at the end of the 
causeway. An entrance was effected and the town taken; the 

Three hundred sixty-three 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Lieutenant-General, with his own hands, slaying the chief 
ensign-bearer of the Spaniards, who fought manfully to his 
life's end. It is like old times to read that the Indians, who 
aided the Spaniards, made use of poisoned arrows, the least 
scratch of which caused death, "unless it were by great 
marvell." 

The Governor, the Bishop, and many other gentlemen of the 
better sort, visited Admiral Drake and General Carlile, and 
there was feasting and divers courtesies. The English 
demanded 110,000 ducats ransom, but after remaining six 
weeks, and their sickness not abating, they accepted 30,000 
ducats and sailed away. 

It was Drake's intent when he left England to take Nombre 
de Dios, and then proceed overland to Panama, "where we 
should have striken the stroke for the treasure, and full recom- 
pense of our tediouse travailes." But he lost so many men from 
calenture — "a verie burning and pestilent ague" — that the trans- 
Isthmian undertaking was abandoned. March ist, Francis 
Drake left Cartagena and sailed westward, casting longing eyes 
on Nombre de Dios and the road to Panama. On April 27th, 
the fleet arrived at Cape San Antonio, Cuba; and May 28th, 
1586, the English went up the St. Augustine river, Florida, took 
the fort of San Juan de Pihos, and burnt the town of St. 
Augustine. 

The expedition then sailed up the coast to Roanoke, and took 
on Mr. Ralph Lane and the colony recently planted by Sir 
Walter Raleigh. One hundred and three colonists embarked, 
five of the original number having died. "And so, God be 
thanked," writes Gates, "both they (the colonists) and we in 
good safetie arrived at Portsmouth the eight-and-twentieth of 
July, 1586, to the great glory of God, and to no small honour to 
our Prince, our country, and ourselves." The expedition lost 
750 men, mostly from tropical fevers, but had taken two of 
Spain's chief cities in the Indies, and brought home 60,000 
pounds, and 240 pieces of ordnance. This was the strongest 
fighting force that had ever sailed in the Caribbean Sea, and 
awoke in Spain alarm for the safety of her colonies, and an 
appreciation of the growing power of England. 

Affairs were rapidly coming to a crisis between England and 
Spain. Mary Stuart had been beheaded; and it was obvious 
that Philip was fitting out a large fleet of ships to invade the 
British Isles. "The first step to be taken in this emergency 

Three hundred sixty-four 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

was to ascertain, by personal inspection, the actual state of the 
enemy's preparations in the ports on the coast of Spain and 
Portugal ; to intercept any supplies of men, stores or ammuni- 
tion, that the Duke of Parma might dispatch from the Low 
Countries ; to lay waste the harbors of Spain and Portugal, on 
the western coast, and destroy all the shipping that could be 
met with at sea conveying stores and provisions, or to attack 
them in port. For such a purpose, no one was considered so 
fitting as Drake.'"^ 

On the 2nd of April, 1587, Drake sailed from Plymouth in the 
Elisabeth Bonaventura, with a score of other ships. As he 
departed, a courier galloped into town with orders that under 
no circumstances should Drake enter a Spanish port or injure 
Spanish subjects. Nevertheless, on the 19th, he went into the 
harbor of Cadiz, fought the armed galleys and forced them to 
retire under the guns of the castle, and looted and destroyed 
upward of a hundred vessels, great and small Among them 
were five great ships of Biscay, and a new ship of 1,200 tons 
belonging to the Marquis of Santa Cruz, High Admiral of 
Spain. After this, Drake shaped his course towards Sagres 
(near Cape Vincent), burning a hundred ships, barks, and 
caravels, loaded with stores for the intended invasion of Eng- 
land ; the crews being put on shore. From the mouth of the 
Tagus he stood for the Azores, and when within twenty or 
thirty leagues of the Isle of St. Michael, captured a Portuguese 
carrack, called St. Philip; being the ship which, in the outward 
voyage, had carried back the three princes of Japan who had 
visited Europe. 

This was the first carrack that ever was taken on a return 
voyage from the East Indies, and she was "so richly loaded 
that every man in the fleet counted his fortune made." Among 
the Portuguese, who now belonged to Spain, her capture was 
looked upon as an evil omen, because the ship bore the King's 
own name. Well satisfied with what he had accomplished, and 
with scarcely the loss of a man, Drake returned to Plymouth in 
June of the same year. The people were elated at his success, 
and came miles to see the St. Phihp, the biggest ship ever 
brought into an English port. She proved that these immense 
vessels were easy to take; and her rich cargo acquainted the 
English people, for the first time, with the wealth of the East 
Indies, the trade of which was monopolized by the Portuguese 
and Dutch. 



' Barrow. 

Three hundred sixty-five 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

This expedition — which Drake somewhat facetiously called 
"singeing the King of Spain's beard" — astonished Europe at 
his audacity, and caused even the Spaniards to say that "if he 
was not a Lutheran there would not be the like of him in the 
world." 

The destruction of Spanish shipping and stores wrought by 
Drake in 1587, delayed for a year the completion of that fleet 
which, first in alarm and then in derision, was called the Invin- 
cible Armada. On account of the death of Santa Cruz, the 
command was given to the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. So sure 
were the Spaniards of conquering England, that Philip sent 
along a chest of jeweled swords to be presented to the Catholic 
nobles of the English court ; and the Pope directed that Eliza- 
beth should be brought to him to be turned over to the Inqui- 
sition. In anticipation of victory, poets sung premature songs 
of triumph, and children at play lisped ludicrous ballads to the 
prowess of Spanish arms. 

The Lord High Admiral, Charles Lord Howard of Effingham, 
in the Ark Royal, commanded the English fleet ; and Sir Francis 
Drake was next in command as Vice-Admiral, in the Revenge. 
Drake's relative, Sir John Hawkins (of San Juan de Ulloa 
fame), sailed in the Victory, as Rear- Admiral. Barrow sum- 
marizes the two forces as follows : 





Ships. 


Tons. 


Guns. 


Mariners. 


English 


197 
132 


29,744 
59,120 


837 
3,165 


15,785 

8,766 

t2i,8s5 


Spaniards 






30,621 




*65 

More E. 


29,376 

More S. 


2,328 
More S. 


14,836 

More S. 



* Erroneously given as 45 in the original, p. 270, C. L. G. A. 
t Soldiers. 

"So that the Spaniards had double the force of the English, 
except in the number of ships, and in guns nearly four times 
the force." 

The day was fast approaching when the contest was to be 
decided between two of the largest and most powerful fleets 



Three hundred si.vty-si.v 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

that had hitherto ever gone to sea or met in battle. On the 19th 
of July, 1588, "one Fleming, the master of a pinnace," reported 
the Armada in the Channel, off the Lizard Point. It was neces- 
sary to quickly get the British fleet out of Plymouth, so as not 
to be caught in the harbor. AVith a stiff breeze blowing in, this 
was a difficult task ; but by morning, Howard's vessels had all 
been towed outside, and they set sail to steal the wind from the 
Spaniards. On the 21st, the two fleets came together, but 
Sidonia refused a general action, and kept on his course, expect- 
ing to join with Parma. The English kept up a firing for two 
hours, but did not press them further. The Armada was com- 
posed of immense galleons, with castles on bow and poop ; and 
unwieldly transports and storeships. The English ships were 
smaller, better sailers, and more skilfully handled. It was the 
English policy to harass the enemy in every way, to fight at a 
distance, and not attempt to board the towering warships of 
Spain. The flagship of Oquendo took fire and was abandoned ; 
and the next morning Drake picked up the Nuestra Senora del 
Rosario, commanded by Don Pedro de Valdes. 

July 22nd there was no fighting. On the 23rd each endeav- 
ored to obtain the weather gage, which brought on a mix-up, 
and a running fight. July 24th there was a cessation on both 
sides. Lord Howard divided his fleet into four divisions ; the 
first under himself, the second under Drake, the third under 
Hawkins, and the fourth under Erobisher. On the 25th, the 
English took another laggard, the St. Anne, of Portugal. 
Medina-Sidonia sent another message to the Duke of Parma, at 
Dunkirk, telling him he was now off the Isle of Wight, and 
urging the Duke to come out. But Lord Henry Seymour was 
outside with a strong fleet, and the Duke remained in Dunkirk. 
The 26th was calm, and the two fleets remained inactive in sight 
of each other. "The Lord High Admiral this day bestowed the 
honour of knighthood on Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Sheffield, 
Roger Townsend, Captain John Hawkins, and Captain Martin 
Erobisher, in consideration of their gallant behaviour. And it 
was decided, in Council, that no further attempt should be made 
on the enemy, until they came into the Straits of Calais, where 
Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William Winter would there 
reinforce them." 

July 27th, the Armada anchored off Calais, by the advice of 
his pilots, lest they should be carried by the current into the 
North Sea. The Spanish commander then sent more messen- 
gers to Parma. On the 28th, Seymour joined Howard; and at 

Three hundred sixty-seven 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

night the English sent eight fire-ships, with shotted guns, in 
among the Spaniards. Not a Spanish ship was fired, but they 
were thrown into confusion, and many dispersed ; a few going 
on the shoals. The 29th there was much fighting off the Flem- 
ish coast, Drake particularly distinguishing himself by his 
aggressive tactics. Several Spanish ships were sunk and others 
driven on the coast. Finding it impossible to turn against the 
wind and tide, and to avoid being driven on the shoals, the Duke 
of Sidonia proceeded into the North Sea. On the 30th Howard 
was still in pursuit, but perceiving the Armada drifting towards 
the shoals of Zealand, he did not think proper to press them. 
When in only six fathoms and a half, a timely wind saved the 
Spaniards, and they sailed northward. The English kept them 
in sight until the 2nd of August, and then turned back. The 
Armada blundered on, met with rough weather, and lost a lot of 
ships and men on the rocks of the Orkneys and the coast of 
Connaught. The wild Irish, their co-religionists, knocked the 
Spaniards in the head, and stole their finery. The Lord Deputy 
of Ireland rounded up a large number and sent them into 
England, from whence Elizabeth returned the survivors to their 
homes in Spain. 

Sir Francis Drake played the most prominent part in the 
overthrow of the so-called Invincible Armada, and it marked 
the pinnacle of his remarkable career. Most of his manhood 
had been spent in combating Spain, in one way or another, and 
the next year, Drake and Sir John Norris (Norreys) got up an 
expedition to place Don Antonio on the throne of Portugal. 
The latter object was not accomplished, but the English burnt 
two ports; whipped an army; marched through the territory of 
the King of Spain to the gates of Lisbon ; captured or destroyed 
nearly a hundred vessels ; and, best of all, destroyed the nucleus 
of another Armada intended for operations against England. 

In the years 1590 and 1591, Drake was engaged in bringing 
the river Mesny to Plymouth ; and when the water was brought 
to the town, he built six corn-mills, an event still celebrated in 
Plymouth. In 1593, Francis Drake represented Plymouth in 
Parliament; and the next year, he and old John Hawkins 
planned another venture to the Spanish Main. For years, 
Drake had dreamed of landing at Nombre de Dios with a strong 
force, and marching across the Isthmus to Panama. In 1592, 
an expedition was prepared for this purpose in England ; but 
owing to intrigues, politics, and the whims of Elizabeth, the 
command was given to Sir Walter Raleigh. Owing to the late- 

Three hundred sixty-eight 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

ness of the season, and scarcity of victuals in the fleet, the 
project was dropped. 

Considering all he had done on the Isthmus, Drake felt that, 
for offensive operations, the region belonged to him. It is 
thought that Sir John Hawkins, then over seventy-five years of 
age, undertook this voyage with the hope of redeeming his son. 
Captain Richard Hawkins, who, in 1593, had sailed through the 
Strait of Magellan, and had been captured by Admiral de Castro 
in the South Sea. 

It was Drake's intention to make a sudden dash to the Isth- 
mus and sack Panama; but the Queen heard of a plate-ship 
which had lost her mast and put in at Porto Rico, so ordered the 
fleet to stop there. It was reported that this treasure was 
destined to equip a third Armada (the second having been 
destroyed by Drake) for the invasion of England. The expedi- 
tion of Drake and Hawkins left Plymouth on the 28th of 
August, 1595. It consisted of the Defiance, Admiral Sir Fran- 
cis Drake; the Garland, Vice-Admral Sir John Hawkins; the 
Hope, Captain Gilbert York; Buonarenture, Captain Trough- 
ton; the Foresight, Captain Winter; the Adventure, Captain 
Thomas Drake; besides about twenty other ships supplied by 
private individuals. Sir Thomas Baskerville commanded the 
land forces. 

The first stop was at the Grand Canary, where they blundered 
in attempting to subdue the island. Here, Captain Grimston 
was killed. Sailing hence, the fleet arrived at the island of 
Guadeloupe, where the pinnaces were set up, and the men 
landed to refresh themselves. 

On the 30th of September, Captain Wignot in the Francis, a 
bark of thirty-five tons, was taken by five Spanish frigates, sent 
out for the treasure at San Juan de Puerto Rico. Drake 
remained two days among the Virgin Islands, where Sir John 
Hawkins was extremely sick. The fleet then stood for the 
eastern end of Puerto Rico, near which, on the nth of 
November, Sir John Hawkins breathed his last. That same 
evening, Drake anchored his ships at the distance of two miles 
or less to the east of the town of San luan de Puerto Rico. 
While the officers were at supper, the Spanish batteries fired 
twenty-eight great shot, one of which penetrated to the great 
cabin of the Defiance, struck the stool from under Drake, killed 
Sir Nicholas Clifford, mortally wounded Mr. Brute Brown, and 
injured Captan Stratford and others. The following morning 
the whole fleet came to anchor before the point of the harbor. 

Three hundred sixty-nine 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

a little to the westward ; and at nightfall, twenty-five pinnaces 
and small boats were manned, and entered the road. 

The treasure-ship had been repaired, and was on the point of 
sailing, when the Spaniards heard that Drake was coming. The 
treasure was taken ashore, and the galleon sunk in the mouth 
of the harbor, which, with other obstructions, rendered the 
entrance impassable. The women, children, and infirm people 
were sent inland, and the authorities prepared for a desperate 
defence. Nevertheless, the British advanced into the harbor, 
burnt the five frigates (or Zabras) sent from Spain for the 
treasure, and also a ship of four hundred tons, with a rich 
cargo of silk, oil, and wine. About forty or fifty men on each 
side were killed, after which the English retired without accom- 
plishing their purpose. Hawkins and Clifford were committed 
to the deep ; and the expedition sailed for the Main. 

La Hacha, the scene of Drake's first venture in the Indies, 
and Rancheria, the village of the pearl-fishers, were taken; 
with pearls and other loot. The people of these places pro- 
mised ransom, and brought in some pearls, which were valued 
so highly that Drake would not accept them. The Governor 
then appeared and said that the pearls were brought in without 
his consent, that he cared not for the town, and would not 
ransom it. "Then the town of Rancheria and of Rio de la 
Hacha were burnt cleane downe to the ground ; the churches 
and a ladle's house only excepted, which, by her letters written 
to the General, was preserved.""^ 

Santa Marta was taken, and not a single piece of gold or 
silver found. This place, and several small villages along the 
coast, were burnt ; very unusual behavior for Drake. He prob- 
ably realized that the expedition would be a failure ; was griev- 
ing for the loss of his friends ; and already suffering from the 
malady which carried him off. On Christmas day, he sailed for 
Nombre de Dios. The people knew Drake was again on the 
coast, and had fled with their valuables. About a hundred 
soldiers fired a few shots, and then took to the woods. The 
captors found no booty in the town, but in a watch-house on a 
hill" close by, were "twentie sowes of silver, two bars of gold, 
some pearl, coined money, and other trifling pillage." 

Another relation states that the fleet anchored before the face 
of the town of Nombre de Dios on the 27th of December, the 
same day Capt. Arnold Baskerfield, Sergeant Major, died. The 

'" Hakluyt. 

" Probably the elevation called by Andagoya the "Hill of Nicuesa." 

Three hundred seventy 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

English landed a mile from the town, and on marching to it 
were received by a bravadoe of shot, when the Spanish soldlrs 
ran away into the woods, a few being taken prisoners. In the 

bv r'fi ""^ Y '^''' ^''^' P^^^^' «f ^^d"-^<^^' on. broken 
tL^ p"t ^r ^^^^ ^^*^^' December 29th, 1595, Sir 
Thomas Baskervihe, with 750 soldiers, started out on the 

^nl^'?i^^^ ' ^^""^^^ <^^^^J^)' wh^re he expected to find 
gold and silver in abundance. They met with numerous 
obstructions erected at favorable points, and were sordy S 
by showers of shot from the jungle, by which many fell ^'The 
nr.k^l7^\f r"-^' ""^'^ Enghshmen marched before'' 
kitt . f'."^. °^r?^ V}"' ^^^^''' ^^th another colunln, 
but in a few days Baskerville's weary and half-starved soldiers 
dragged themselves back to Nombre de Dios. Whe7about hdf 
way across the Isthmus, and after losing eighty or nl.etv men 
among whom was the quarter-master genera fan en ign and 
two or three other officers, they heard of still more fortf aJie Td 
and deemed it prudent to turn back. ' 

Nombre de Dios was destroyed, and all the frigates barks 
and galliots in the harbor were burnt. Vessels on the be-^ch' 
with houses built over them to keep the pitch from meltFao 'ntt 
a like fate. 'On the 15th January, on their way towards Rierto 
Bello, Captam Plat died of sickness, and then SypTancis Drake 
began to keep his cabin and to complain of a scowring or fluxe " 
Drake took a map, and showed his officers San Tuan de 
Nicaragua and Truxillo, the port of Honduras ; and aske u" em 



Three hundred seventy-one 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKB 

pinnaces were put together, in which to ascend the San Tuan 
river. After this they must have encountered a storm, for we 
find the fieet on the way back to Puerto Bello. Drake kept 
getting worse all the time. He became delirious, rose from his 
couch, and uttered some speech. Then he clothed himst-lf, 
called for his arms, lay down like a Viking, and died within an 
hour. The poison of the Isthmus was in his blood, and the 
tropics, which he had invaded so often, exacted her toll. 

Between Escudo and Puerto Bello, and nearer the latter place, 
on the 28th day of January, 1596, at 4 o'clock in the morning. 
Sir Francis Drake departed this life. The ships moved on to 
Puerto Bello and anchored in the bay. The next day his body 
w^as enclosed in a leaden coffin, carried a league to sea, and 
buried in the waves, in sight of the scenes of his early exploits." 
Trumpets sounded, and the fleet thundered a last salute to their 
dead chief. Two of his own ships, and all his late prizes were 
sunk near the spot. At the same time, a fort on shore, which 
Philip was erecting to defend the new port of Puerto Bello, was 
given to the flames. Mr. Bride made a sermon on board the 
Defiance, attended by all the captains of the fleet. 

"Where Drake first found, there last he lost his name. 
And for a tomb left nothing but his fame. 
His body's buried under some great wave, 
The sea that was his glory is his grave. 
On whom an epitaph none can truly make. 
For who can say, 'Here lies Sir Francis Drake ?' " 

If we admit his birth to have taken place in 1540, then Drake 
died in his fifty-sixth year. He was low in stature, broad of 
chest, and strong of limb ; with round head, brown hair, large 
lively eyes, and fair complexion. Accepted portraits represent 
him as wearing a short, pointed beard. Drake was twice mar- 
ried, but, like ten of his brethren, died without issue. 

England might well say of Francis Drake and his contem- 
porary seamen — Hawkins, Frobisher, Cavendish, Cumberland, 
Grenville, Davis, Lancaster — as Lord Howard said of his cap- 
tains who fought the Armada : "God send us to see such a com- 
pany together again, when need is," 

• ^ There is a dubious statement to the eflfect that Drake's heart was 
removed and buried in a nearby island, since called El Draque. 

Captain William Parker, who captured Portobello a few years later 
(Feb. 7th, 1602), says : "The Place where my Shippes roade being the 
rock where Sir Francis Drake his Coffin was throwne overboorde." 

Three hundred seventy-tzuo 



SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 



Sir Thomas Baskerville called a council aboard the Garland, 
showed his commission, and was accepted as General. Many- 
men had already succumbed to the climate, and with the death 
of Drake, the survivors decided to return home. Near the Isle 
of Pines, off Cuba, they were intercepted by twenty Spanish 
ships, being part of a fleet of sixty vessels sent out from Car- 
tagena to catch them. After a sharp action of two hours, the 
English burnt one of the Spanish ships and the rest sheered off. 
Without further molestation, the unfortunate expedition pro- 
ceeded on its way, and early in May, 1596, arrived in England. 



"The same day Sir Francis Drake, our General, departed this life, 
whose death was exceedingly deplored, his interment was after this 
manner : His Corps being laid in a Cophin of Lead, he was let downe 
into the Sea, the trumpets in dolefull manner echoing out this lamenta- 
tion for so great a losse, and all the Cannons in the Fleet were dis- 
charged according to the custome of all Sea Funerall obsequies. We 
continued here until the eighth of February, watring and ballasing our 
Ships. In this Horbor are some few houses inhabited with Spaniards, 
they beginning to build a new towne and a great Bulwarke, which we 
spoyled and burned; we found many Chests full of Carpenters' tools 
with many Iron Bars and other necessaries for building, which we 
brought away with us. The day before we came away the Enemy came 
downe and took some six of our Men at the watring place. Certaine 
of our Men were sent in Boats up the South side of the River, where 
we found some more of their Carpenters' tools. This Harbour is very 
commodious for Shipping, having a good anchoring place and ten or 
twelve fathome deep in water; we landed great store of Spaniards and 
Negroes at this Island, giving the Enemy to understand that he would 
use our Men well which they took prisoners, comming from Panama, 
and sent a Messenger not hearing any answer again, yet at our depar- 
ture the Governour was come down with many Souldiers with him who 
wrote to our Generall. The eighth of February we came away from 
this Harbour of Porta Vella beating up to the height of Cartegena, 
which was ten dayes after, we took our course for Gemico North North 
and by West." 

"A Full Relation of Another Voyage into the West Indies made by 
Sir Francis Drake from Plimmouth, 28 Aug., 1595." — Londoun, 1652. 

Three hundred seventv-three 



CHAPTER XXI. 




THE BUCCANEERS. 

"And some we got by purchase, 
And some we had by trade. 
And some we found by courtesy 

Of pike and carronade — 
At midnight, 'mid-sea meetings, 

For charity to keep. 
And light the rolling homeward-bound 

That rode a foot too deep." 

RUDYARD KlPI,ING. 

J HE Elizabethan seamen of the i6th century- 
were followed by the Buccaneers of the 17th 
century ; who, in turn, gave rise to the ordinary- 
Pirates of the 1 8th century. As we know,, 
early in the i6th century French corsairs, 
Dutch see-roovers, and English smugglers, 
slavers, traders, and privateers, began to 
appear in the West Indies." The most promi- 
nent among the English were Hawkins, Drake, 
Raleigh and Cavendish. In the next century, 
these foreign intruders found it both necessary 
and profitable to wage a general warfare 
against Spain, who was trying to keep them all out of her 
American possessions. 

The Buccaneers were a loose association of foreign smug- 
glers, cattle-hunters, freebooters, and privateers, who, in the 
17th century, infested the Caribbean Sea, attacked Spanish 
settlements on the islands and mainland, and even invaded the 
South Sea, either by crossing the Isthmus, or going through the 
Strait of Magellan. At first, and at their best, the Buccaneers 
were a league of defence and offence against their common 
enemy, Spain. This federation against Spain was founded upon 
racial antagonism, competition in trade and conquest, and dif- 
ferences in reHgion; Protestant England and Holland, with 
HugLienot France, being arrayed in opposition to Catholic 

^As early as 1518, an English trading vessel arrived at Santo 
Dorningo, and was fired upon by order of the Governor, Francisco de 
Tapia. The English then sailed to Porto Rico, where they bartered 
wrought iron, and vessels of tin and pewter, for provisions. In 1526, 
one Thomas Tison resided in the West Indies as a secret factor for 
some English merchants. 

In 1572, John Chilton, an inhabitant of Britain, sailed as a passenger 
in a Spanish vessel from Panama to Peru. 

Three hundred seventy-five 



THB B UCC ANBBRS 

Spain, the instigator and supporter of the Inquisition, and the 
foe of Freedom." 

The Buccaneers were an amphibious lot of dare-devils, reck- 
less, and often lawless, but sometimes well regulated and 
orderly. Individual commanders occasionally exhibited acts of 
knightly chivalry. The French affectionately called them nos 
braves ; while to the Spaniards they were known as demons of 
the sea. French chroniclers compared Alexandre Bras-de-Fer, 
not unfavorably, to Alexander the Great ; and English writers 
classed Henry Morgan with Julius Caesar and the other Nine 
Worthies of Fame. 

Lawrence, on a small vessel, when overtaken by two large 
Spanish ships, each carrying sixty guns, thus addressed his 
crew: "You have too much experience not to be sensible of 
your danger, and too much courage to fear it. On this occasion 
we must avail ourselves of every circumstance, hazard every- 
thing, attack and defend ourselves at the same time. Valor, 
artifice, rashness, and even despair itself, must now be em- 
ployed. Let us dread the ignomy of a defeat; let us dread 
the cruelties of our enemies ; and let us fight that we may 
escape them." Lawrence not only escaped, but nearly suc- 
ceeded in capturing the two Spanish ships. 

As the foreigners (non-Spanish) gained a footing in the 
West Indies, their respective governments unloaded their unde- 
sirable citizens on the infant colonies. If they came to naught, 
there was no loss. When M. d'Ogeron, in 1665, came out as 
Governor of Tortuga and the French settlements on Haiti, 
France sent over a lot of women to encourage the flibustiers to 
form domestic ties. These women, like many others coming 
to the islands, were noted for their licentiousness rather than 
for their virtues.^ Of the men, M. de Pointis wrote: "All who 

^ There is a law of compensation and of retribution. The Gueux de 
Mer, Sea Beggars, from the revolted Netherlands, Huguenot corsairs, 
and Protestant buccaneers, now plundered and killed Catholic Spaniards 
with the same religious zest and fervor displayed by the Christian 
Spaniards during the Conquest in robbing and butchering the native 
Americans. 

* Each buccaneer said to the woman falling to his lot : "I take thee 
without knowing, or caring to know, whom thou art. If any body from 
whence thou comest would have had thee, thou wouldst not have come 
in quest of me; but no matter. I do not desire thee to give me an 
account of thy past conduct, because I have no right to be offended at 
it, at the time when thou wast at liberty to behave either well or ill, 
according to thy own pleasure ; and because I shall have no reason to 
be ashamed of anything thou wast guilty of when thou didst not belong 
to me. Give me only thy word for the future. I acquit thee of what 
is past." Then striking his hand on the barrel of his gun, he added: 
"This will revenge me of thy breach of faith; if thou shouldst prove 
false, this will certainly be true to my aim."— Abbe Raynal. 

Three hundred seventy-six 



THB B UCCANBBRS 

are apprehended as vagabonds in France, and can give no 
account of themselves, are sent to these islands, where they are 
obliged to serve for three years. The first that gets them, 
obliges them to work in the plantations ; at the end of the term 
of servitude somebody lends them a gun, and to sea they go 
abuccaneering. * * * l^he Governors of our settlements 
in St. Domingo, being enriched by them, do mightily extol them 
for the damages they do to the Spaniards." Many outsiders 
who had settled down as honest planters, when driven out by 
the Spaniards or some other nationality, took to piracy. 

While the home governments of France, England, and Hol- 
land found it good policy to encourage the Buccaneers, their 
West Indian colonies had still more reason for favoring them. 
In the minutes of the Council of Jamaica, dated the 22nd of 
February, 1666, are recorded twelve good reasons for granting 
commissions to the privateers. 

1. "Because it furnishes the island with many necessary com- 
modities at easy rates. 

2. It replenishes the island with coin, bullion, cocoa, logwood, 
hides, tallow, indigo, cochineal, and many other commodities 
whereby the men of New England are invited to bring their 
provisions and many merchants to reside at Port Royal. 

3. It helps the poorer planters, by selling provisions to the 
men-of-war. 

4. It hath and will enable many to buy slaves and settle plan- 
tations. 

5. It draws down yearly from the Windward Islands many 
an hundred of the English, French, and Dutch, many of whom 
turn planters. 

6. It is the only means to keep the buccaneers on Hispaniola, 
Tortuga, and the south and north quays of Cuba from being 
their enemies and infesting their sea-side plantations. 

7. It is a great security to the island, that the men-of-war 
often, intercept Spanish advices, and give intelligence to the 
Governor; which they often did in Colonel D'Oyley's time 
and since. 

8. The said men-of-war bring no small benefit to his 
Majesty and Royal Highness by the iStlis and loths [the dues 
on the commissions and the share of the prizes paid to the 
Crown] . 

9. They keep many able artificers at work in Port Royal and 
elsewhere at extraordinary wages. 

10. Whatsoever they get the soberer part bestow in strength- 
ening their old ships, which in time will grow formidable. 

Three hundred seventy-seven 



THE B UCCAN BBRS 

11. They are of great reputation to this island and of terror 
to the Spaniard, and keep up a high and military spirit in all the 
inhabitants. 

12. It seems to be the only means to force the Spaniards in 
time to a free trade, all ways of kindness producing nothing of 
good neighborhood, for though all old commissions have been 
called in and no new ones granted, and many of their ships 
restored, yet they continue all acts of hostility, taking our ships 
and murdering our people, making them work at their fortifi- 
cation and sending them into Spain, and very lately they denied 
an English fleet bound for the Dutch colonies wood, water, or 
provisions. 

For which reasons it was unanimously concluded that the 
granting of said commissions did extraordinarily conduce to the 
strengthening, preservation, enriching, and advancing the settle- 
ment of this island." 

By right of discovery, conquest, and settlement, Spain claimed 
not only all the West India Islands, but most of the mainland of 
the three Americas. That this claim was well founded, one 
need only read the records of the invasion and conquest of the 
New World by Europeans in the i6th century. Spain was fifty 
to one hundred years ahead of all other nations. Fifty years 
before the settlement of Jamestown, in 1607, by the English. 
Spain had already conquered two empires, the Aztecan in 
Mexico, and the Incan in Peru ; and when the Pilgrims landed 
in New England, in 1620, America was Spanish from Florida 
and Arizona south through Mexico, Central America and the 
Antilles, to Chile and the Rio de la Plata in South America. 

Besides, the Pope, regarded as the representative of the 
Creator, had, by Papal Bull, given to Spain the New World 
which she had discovered. Before the discovery of America, 
Portugal had been extending her discoveries from Cape Boja- 
dor down the west coast of Africa, until, in i486, she had 
rounded the Cape of Buona Speranza. Pope Martin V., Eugene 
IV., and others, had confirmed her titles to possession of these 
new lands. 

When Columbus, on his first voyage, discovered the West 
Indies for Spain, she applied to Pope Alexander VI. to endorse 
her claim. Portugal thought these new islands might be within 
the region of discovery in the south, granted to her in 1479. To 
avoid controversy between these two Christian kingdoms, the 
Pope, in May, 1493, by a "Bull of Donation," drew an imagin- 
ary Hne from pole to pole, passing 100 leagues west of the 

Three hundred seventy-eight 



THB BUCCANBBRS 

Azores and Cape Verde Islands. All discoveries east of this 
line should belong to Portugal ; all west to Spain. 

The next year, 1494, these two powers, by treaty,* and with- 
out papal mediation, moved this line westward to 370 leagues 
west of the Cape Verde Islands. This change, later on, gave 
Brazil to Portugal; for in 1500, Cabral, following the route to 
India opened by Vasco da Gama in 1498, intentionally or unin- 
tentionally blundered onto the coast of Brazil ; and the territory 
was found to be east of the "Pope's line," so-called. King 
Francis wrote to Carlos of Spain: "Your Majesty and the 
King of Portugal have divided the world between you, offering 
no part of it to me. Show me, I beseech you, the will of our 
father Adam, that I may judge whether he has really constituted 
you his universal heirs !" 

When we consider that during this same period Spain was 
conducting wars by land and sea with other European nations, 
and establishing settlements in the East Indies, as well as in 
America, we cannot but be impressed with the magnitude of 
her undertakings, nor fail to admire the daring, hardships, and 
success of the Conquistadores. 

The means wherewith to prosecute and maintain these wars 
and conquests came from the mines of Mexico and Peru, which 
were yielding tons of the precious metals under the slave labor 
of the Indians. Spain having such a large territory to look 
after, it was natural that most of her endeavors should be 
directed to those parts of the mainland yielding the largest 
returns ; and that the islands, first discovered, where but little 
gold was now found, should be neglected. Spain prohibited 
settlement by other nationalities within her dominion, and 
foreign ships were not permitted to trade with her people. 
Even Spanish traders, in the West Indies, were required to pay 
a high license to the King, and her colonists were taxed enor- 
mous import duties. 

Emigration from Spain was large, and the home factories 
could not fully supply her colonists in the New World. The 
Spanish settlers welcomed the foreign smugglers, and bought 
their much needed supplies without paying the enormous taxes 
imposed on them by their king. America was the source of 
Spain's wealth and greatness ; yet, for three hundred years, she 
restricted and taxed the trade of her struggling colonists. Had 
it not been for the intimate association between Church and 
State, and the control of the people by the priesthood, the 

* Treaty of Tordesillas, June 7, 1494, 

Three hundred seventy-nine 



THE B UCC ANBHRS 

Spanish-American colonies would have declared their inde- 
pendence a century earlier than they did. 

Inasmuch as Isabella had been the patroness of Columbus, 
while Ferdinand of Aragon contributed nothing, America was 
considered as belonging to Castile, and her citizens were favored 
above those of other parts of Spain. It was but natural that 
foreign ships should evade the duties in selling supplies to Span- 
ish colonies ; and it was also natural that the colonists should 
buy goods in the cheapest market, even though it be of illicit 
traders. Unlicensed foreign ships were generally called forbans 
in Haiti. 

In order to keep the plantations going, African slavery had 
early been introduced into the West Indies to replace the Indian 
slaves exterminated by the Spanish taskmasters. "Whenever 
colonies are founded by conquering hordes the same types arise, 
and the sedentary element is subjugated, as in South America 
and Mexico. Where it does not exist, where only wandering 
tribes of huntsmen are found, who can be exterminated but not 
exploited, resource is had to slavery by importing from afar 
exploitable and compellable masses of men." (Dr. Franz 
Oppenheimer.) Adventurous merchantmen dealt in negroes 
as in any other commodity, and their cargoes were welcomed 
by planters and others. Sir John Hawkins made a number of 
voyages in the i6th century, and is often credited with being the 
first slaver in these parts. As French, English, and Dutch 
gradually invaded the West Indies, smuggling became so pro- 
nounced that the Spanish government maintained guarda-costas, 
or armed cruisers, among the islands and along the main, and 
the officers were instructed to capture all foreign ships, to 
destroy all foreign settlements, and to take no prisoners. 

At this time, the large islands and towns were settled with 
Spaniards, but remote parts and some of the smaller islands 
were occupied by other Europeans ; mostly French, English, 
and Dutch. Settlers of other nations, with a common foe, 
found it necessary and profitable to combine for mutual de- 
fence ; and every Spaniard was considered an enemy. Spanish 
trading vessels found it unsafe to cruise among the islands, as 
they were in danger of capture by bands of foreigners calling 
themselves "Brethern of the Coast," and who were known later 
as Freebooters, Flibustiers, and Buccaneers. Aggressions by 
these foreigners formed the grounds of frequent complaints by 
the Spanish Ambassadors at the courts of St. James and 
Versailles. 

To one of these complaints Queen Elizabeth replied, "That 

Three hundred eighty 



THB BUCCANBBRS 

the Spaniards had drawn these inconveniences upon themselves 
by their severe and unjust dealings in their American com- 
merce; for she did not understand why either her subjects, or 
those of any other European prince, should be debarred from 
traffic in the Indies. That, as she did not acknowledge the 
Spaniards to have any title by' the donation of the Bishop of 
Rome, so she knew no right they had to any places other than 
those they were in actual possession of; for that they having 
touched only here and there upon a coast, and given names to a 
few rivers or capes, were such insignificent things as could no 
ways entitle them to a propriety further than in the parts where 
they actually settled, and continued to inhabit." (Camden). 
While these hostile acts were officially disowned, there is no 
doubt but that they had the secret support of their governments, 
and the backing of popular opinion at home. 

The nursery of all English and French colonies in the West 
Indies was the island of St. Christopher, now known as St. 
Kitts. This island was discovered, in 1493, by Columbus on his 
second voyage to America, and he called it after the saint for 
whom he himself was named. It is one of the small, gem-like 
islands of the Caribbee group, and lies about midway between 
Porto Rico and Guadeloupe. Close by, is Nevis island, where 
Hamilton was born, and where Nelson married. 

In the year 1625, a party of English under Thomas Warner,' 
and some French led by Denambuc, on the same day, invaded 
St. Christopher, and started separate colonies. "Thus the gov- 
ernments of Great Britain and France, like friendly fellow- 
travellers, and not like rivals who were to contend in a race, 
began their West Indian career by joint consent at the same 
point both in time and place." (Burney.) 

As usual, the landing of white men was baptized with the 
blood of the rightful owners of the soil. One hundred and 
twenty of the Carib' men were killed, a lot of women captured, 
and the rest driven from the island. Spain now had some 
rivals ; and this settlement by English and French on St. Chris- 
topher, in 1625, marks the beginning of that international strife 
for the possession of the West Indies and the mastery in the 
Caribbean, which has continued down to the present day. The 
colonies flourished ; but disagreements arose, and in a few years 
the island became too small for both of them. Before they 



^ Upon his return to England, Warner was knighted by James I. 
* "lis refirent en une nuit de tous les plus f actieux de cette nation." — 
De Rochefort, "Histoire Morale des Isles Antilles." 

Three hundred eighty-one 



THE B UCCANBBRS 

could cut each other's throats, a fleet of twenty-nine Spanish 
ships under Don Federico de Toledo arrived, in 1629, killed 
many of both parties, and broke up the settlements. Spain at that 
time was at war with England, France, and Holland ; and Don 
Frederic was then on his way to attack the Dutch in Brazil. 
Some of the colonists returned later to St. Christopher, but 
most of them located, in 1630, on Tortuga, the garrison of 
twenty-five Spaniards retiring without a blow. The latter is 
a little island, five or six miles off the northwest coast of Haiti, 
which, from its resemblance to a sea-turtle {tortuga de mar), 
is called Tortuga. The Buccaneers built a fort, established 
magazines, and cultivated the land. For a long time, Tortuga 
was the headquarters of the Buccaneers, and a haven for the 
corsairs and smugglers of all nations.' It was easily defended, 
and gave an outlook over the Mona Passage, the route taken 
by Spanish galleons to and from Cartagena, Puerto Bello, and 
Vera Cruz. 

Here the Buccaneers gathered supplies and planned their 
raids, divided the spoils of victory, gambled away their pieces- 
of-eight, and passed the nights in drunken revels in the arms of 
dusky mistresses.* 

Orient and Occident paid them tribute; and wine, women, 
music, and dancing were the rewards of hardships and daring. 
When supplies ran low, and the pirates had lost their money, 
they clamored to go to sea again, or be led against some Spanish 
settlement. 

Tortuga was captured more than once by the Spanish forces, 
but was always retaken by the Buccaneers. In 1638, the Span- 
iards chose a time when most of the Buccaneers were absent, 
descended upon the island, slew those remaining, and destroyed 
their fort and houses. The Buccaneers to the number of three 
hundred, then united under an Englishman named Willis, and 
recaptured their stronghold. 

In 1 64 1, the French Governor-General, De Poigncy, came 
from St. Christopher with a party of Frenchmen, and estab- 
lished his seat of government on Tortuga. His first act was 

' "Tortuga, the common Refuge of all sort of Wickedness, and the 
Seminary, as it were, of Pirates and Thieves." Yet, they are described 
as living together in an orderly manner, and without T)olts or bars to 
their houses. 

^The Buccaneers led profligate, irregular, and intemperate lives, con- 
sumed enormous quantities of meat and alcohol, and were exposed to 
many hardships and dangers ; yet we do not read of diseases and epi- 
demics among them, like occurred in the Spanish flotas, and the fleets 
of Drake and Vernon. 

Three hundred eighty-two 



THE BUCCANBBRS 

to expel all the English from the island ; to which they never 
returned.' De Poigncy gradually installed French governors on 
the adjoining coast of Haiti, which was the beginning of French 
regime on that island. 

In 1655, the Cromwellian forces, under Penn and Venables, 
took Jamaica from the Spanish, largely with the help of thv 
Buccaneers. This gave the English Buccaneers a convenient 
gathering place at Port Royal. Thereafter, the English and 
French had separate headquarters, but were always ready to 
co-operate in any large undertaking. "The English and French 
Buccaneers were faithful associates, but did not mix well as 
comrades," says Captain Burney. 

The greatest advantage possessed by Tortuga as a base for 
the Buccaneers, was its proximity to the wild cattle and hucans 
on Haiti. In order to understand the etymology of the term buc- 
caneer, a few facts must first be considered. The West India 
islands produced no cattle, either wild or domestic. Columbus 
relates that he found deer on Trinidad, probably because it 
was so near tierra firme, but the northern islands contained 
no quadruped larger than the wild pig or peccary ; the utia, a 
kind of coney; and the "dumb dog," in Cuba. 

Soon after the Discovery, the Spaniards brought over black 
cattle from the mother country in order to provide meat for 
food. This stock increased rapidly and ran wild over the 
islands. Very early, too, the Spaniards introduced fierce mas- 
tiffs and blood-hounds, with which to kill and enslave the 
Indians. These dogs multiplied so fast that they could not be 
kept in the settlements, so they, also, became wild, and pieyed 
upon the calves and native wild hogs. In order to prevent the 
extermination of their meat supply, it was necessary to poison 
many of these wild dogs. 

One of the first and largest of the islands discovered by 
Columbus was Espanola ; at different times called Hispaniola, 
Santo Domingo, and Haiti. (The Indians called their island 
Ayte, and Haiti it should be). Here, the Spanish cattle flour- 
ished so abundantly that the increase "passeth man's reason to 
believe."" Foreigners, mostly French and English, hunted 
these wild cattle for their meat, tallow, and hides, and developed 
a regular industry. The hides were carried to the port, where 

' The fall of Quebec, 1759, began at Tortuga. in 1641, when the French 
ousted the British from the island. 
"Hakluyt. 

Three hundred . eighty-three 



THB B UCCANBBRS 

they were bought by navigators, by bondsmen, who engaged 
themselves to serve three years, and hence were called engages.^ 
These men hunted in small parties on foot, and used a musket 
or buccaneering-piece, four and a half feet long, shooting an 
ounce bullet. Their skill in shooting, acquired in hunting cattle, 
is one of the factors which made them successful when engag- 
ing an enemy. In addition, they carried four knives, a bayonet, 
a quantity of the best French powder in a waxed calabash, and 
a small tent. These equipments, with a supply of dried beef, 
made them well prepared for an expedition on very i;hort 
notice. No doubt one of the knives was a kind of machete, 
which would serve equally well against the jungle on shore, and 
as a cutlass at sea. The Buccaneers generally wore a loose 
blouse and drawers, belted around the waist, and hide sandals. 
The cattle being killed, the hunter cut a hole in the carcass, 
through which he stuck his head, and thus carried the meat into 
camp. These cattle hunters naturally presented a bloody and 
forbidding appearance. 

The meat was cut into strips and hung on a frame made of 
green wood, over a slow fire. This method of curing meat, by 
drying and smoking, was learned from the Indians, who called 
the place of drying or smokehouse, where the curing v/as done, 
a bucan; and the dried meat, also, bucan." The grate (grille 
de hois) was called barbacue,^^ and on it was placed the animal, 

"A master always fixing upon Sunday to have his hides carried to 
market, an engage represented that God had forbidden work on the 7th 
day. The Buccaneer replied: "And I say to thee, six days thou shalt 
kill bulls, and strip them of their skins, and on the seventh day thou 
shalt carry their hides to the sea-shore." 

"The fresh boucan restored the ailing to health. Andre says 
boucan did not keep well after six months without the addition of salt. 
In some of the West India islands the term boucan is used to designate 
the place for drying cocoa or coffee. 

*'Also written harhacra. This was their common mode of cooking; 
and from it we get our word barbacue (barbecue). In Central America, 
barbacoa means a frame made of sticks ; in Cuba, it refers to a platform 
in the lofts of country houses, upon which fruits and grain are kept. 
When William Dampier was with the log-wood cutters in Campeche, he 
slept on a barbecue, and used the sleeping pavilion necessary for defence 
against the insects. Dampier writes that when the Buccaneers revisited 
Juan Fernandez, in 1684, they found that William, the Mosquito Indian, 
had built himself a hut : "and slept on his couch or barbecu of sticks, 
raised about two feet from the ground and spread with goats' skins." 



Three hundred eighty-four 



THB BUCCANBBRS 

fish, or meat to be roasted or dried. The Caribs" (tlie word 
means cannibals), used to cut up their prisoners and make thsm 
into hucan^ This word was adopted into the French language 
as houcan, and the verb became boucaner. "Les Caraibes 
Indiens naturels des Antilles ont accoutume de couper en pieces 
leurs prisonniers de guerre & de les mettre sur de manieres 
de claies, sous lesquelles ils mettent du feu. lis nomment ces 
dales Barbacra, & le lieu ou les sont, boucan, & Taction, 
boucaner; pour dire, rotir & fumer tout ensemble." (Diet' 
de Trevoux, Paris, 1771). 

The cattle-hunters were called by the French, boucaniers; 
and by the English, buccaneers. The latter soon became a 
general term, replacing and including "brethren of the coast," 
and flibustiers. It is often stated that flibustier was derived 
from the English word freebooter. This is rather far-fetched ; 
though both may have had a common origin in the Dutch word 
vribuiter, which means the same thing. What is more likely, 
however, is that flibustier and filibuster are derived from the 
English flyboat," a small, swift sailing vessel said to be first 
used on the river Vly, in Holland. When the northern seamen 
mvaded the West Indies, the Spaniards called their vessels 
flibotes, and the men, flibusteros; French, ilibusHers. 

"i?°™\ ^"*!!^°P°^°^'^*^ believe that the Caribs were not anthro- 
pophagi, but that the human remains found in their cooking pots and 
the desiccated arms_ and legs hanging from the rafters of their shacks 
were simply the native way of curing and preserving their caciques and 
relatives, bays Juan Ignacio de Armas, a Cuban writer, in 1884,— 

JNJo habia dos razas en las Antillas, sino una sola, de costumbres dukes 
1 pacihcas. La fabula de los Caribes fue al principio un error jeografico • 
luego una alucmacion ; despues una calumnia. Hoi no es mas que una 
rutma que hai que borrar cuanto antes de los libros de historia de 
jeografia de ciencias naturales i antropolojicas; i lo que es mas con- 
solador del catalogo de manchas que aun deshonran la especie humana " 
i believe the Canb Indians ate human flesh, and also preserved 
cadavers m the same fashion they cured meat and fish. From drying 
fish to boucanmg the flesh of their enemies, and then preserving their 
dead by the same method, was but a natural transition. Flesh-eaters still 
^^ lAf ^^'^^^'' ■'"St as the Caribs overcame the root-eating Arawaks of 
the West Indies. Cannibalism being no longer fashionable in Ireland 
the aggressive Irishman leaves home to satisfy his craving for meat ;' 
and as conditions in Ireland improve, emigration lessens. 

"When population becomes dense enough to make it profitable to 
exploit mankind, the cannibal spares his conquered blood-foe, to turn 
him into a labor-motor, and, by initiating slave-labor, organizes the 
mechanism of exploitation, afterwards called a state." (Oppenheimer.) 

_^'"Ils les mangeant apres les avoir bien boucannee, c'est a dire rotis 
bien sec."— Du Tertre, "Histoire des Antilles." 
''Perhaps from -ffuyt (Dutch). 

Three hundred eighty-five 



THB BUCCANBBRS 

The fires in the boucans were fed with the fat, bones, and 
trimmings of the meat, which gave the dried product a fine 
flavor. The meat of the wild hog was also boucaned, and when 
salt was added, it remained sweet for a long time, and was pre- 
ferred by the Buccaneers for lengthy cruises. When these 
interlopers planned an attack against a Spanish settlement, or a 
cruise to prey upon Spanish merchantmen, they first went to 
Espanola or some other island where the Spaniards had intro- 
duced cattle, and boucaned a lot of meat. Other supplies they 
expected to acquire by capture. At one time the Spaniards 
tried to exterminate the cattle and hogs on Espanola, in order 
to prevent the Buccaneers from getting supplies of their favorite 
meat. 

A great advantage which the Buccaneers had over the Span- 
iards was the friendship and aid of the Indians, and of the 
runaway negroes. One of the injunctions in the commissions 
to Columbus and the other discoverers, was to Christianize the 
Indians ; and the Pope, in donating most of the New World to 
Spain, required, as a consideration, that the natives should be 
converted to Christianity. This obligation Spain proceeded to 
discharge with all the zeal and intolerance of the times, and the 
bigotry of her priesthood. Conversion by sword and fagots was 
not relished by the Indians. Those who were not captured and 
enslaved, retired to the mountains and swamps ; and to this day 
there are tribes in Panama, and other Spanish- American States, 
who have never been conquered by Spaniards or other white 
men. Besides, there were settlements in remote parts of the 
islands, and on the main, formed by fugitive slaves, called 
Cimarrones, by the Spaniards; and Simarons, and later 
Maroons," by the English. These wild Indians (indios bravos), 
and Maroons were often guides and allies of the Buccaneers; 
who, in return, supplied them with knives, hatchets, cloth, and 
gewgaws. Later on, the Mosquito Indians of Honduras, who 
were under the special protection of England, usually furnished 
pilots and fishermen for the Buccaneers. 

When an expedition was contemplated, notices were sent out, 
and a rendezvous appointed. Each man was required to fur- 
nish his own arms and powder. The captains held council, and 
elected one of their number leader or admiral. Articles of 
agreement and regulations were drawn up and signed. The 
men swore not to desert, or conceal any booty. The pay of 



" Distinguish Maroons from Marooners. The latter was a term 
applied to the American pirates of the i8th century, from their practice 
of putting their captives ashore on uninhabited islands. 

Three hundred eighty-six 



THB BUCCANBBRS 

each officer and man was specified, contingent, of course, upon 
making captures ; the understanding being, "no prey, no pay." 
Each captain was allowed so much for his vessel ; and the sur- 
geon given 200 pieces-of-eight for his stores. Preferential 
shares were set aside for the maimed and wounded. The loss 
of a right arm was rewarded with 600 pieces-of-eight, or six 
slaves ; while the left was worth only 500 pieces-of-eight, or five 
slaves. The right leg was valued at 500 pieces, the left at 400 
pieces-of-eight. The compensation for the loss of one eye was 
the same as for the loss of a finger, 100 pieces-of-eight, or one 
slave. Any boys aboard received half a share each. Two 
friends would often swear brotherhood;** and make the other 
heir to his share in case of death. 

When the Buccaneers sailed under commission," the Gov- 
ernor or Admiral granting the authority claimed one-tenth of 
the prizes. It is stated that these agreements were well ob- 
served, and the spoils equably distributed. Values were reck- 
oned in the Spanish colonial silver dollar {peso duro, or peso de 
echo reales de platd), called by the English a piece-of -eight, 
because it contained eight reales. The food of the Buccaneers 
included boucan, maize, cassava, potatoes, fish, turtle, banana, 
and tropical fruits. 

The Buccaneers were civil to each other, and good order and 
discipline were observed aboard ship. The English generally 
held divine service each Sunday, and profanity and gaming 
were sometimes prohibited in the signed articles. 

Captain Watling began his command by ordering the obser- 
vance of the Sabbath; Richard Sawkins threw overboard the 
dice he found in use on that dayj and Captain Daniel shot one 
of his crew for irreverent behavior when Pere Labat held mass 
on his ship. Before engaging in battle, prayers for success were 
often offered. After taking a town, part would repair to the 
church to sing a Te Deum, while the remainder would loot and 
outrage the inhabitants. 

Sometimes as many as thirty or forty small vessels, compris- 
ing one to two thousand men, would gather for an expedition. 
The Buccaneers usually attacked in small boats; often using 
canoes. They would so approach a galleon as to run in under 
her guns without getting in range, while the expert marksmen 
from among the houcaniers would pick off the gunners and the 

** This was called matelotage. 

" Except when Spain was at war with the government issuing the com- 
missions, they were not much protection. The Spaniards sometimes 
hanged buccaneer captains with their commissions tied about their necks. 

Three hundred eighty-seven 



THE BUCCANEERS 

man at the wheel. Once alongside, the crew of one boat would 
wedge the rudder so that the ship could not maneuver, while the 
rest would quickty board her. The Buccaneers sometimes scut- 
tled their own boats in order to cut off all retreat, and make 
themselves fight more desperately. 

It seems to be a fact that the Buccaneers were uniformly suc- 
cessful, so that individual Spanish ships were driven from the 
Caribbean Sea. Spanish merchantmen sailed under convoy 
with the plate-fleets, one of which sailed yearly from Vera Cruz 
(San Juan de Ulloa), and the other from Puerto Bello. Con- 
ditions were very much as they had been in the previous century, 
when Hawkins, Drake, Frobisher, and other English privateers, 
preyed upon Spanish commerce, and paralyzed her trade with 
her colonies. 

Plate and merchandise were the chief spoils of the Bucca- 
neers. The loot and prizes were disposed of to the merchants 
and planters of St. Domingo, Martinque, Jamaica, and Curacao, 
much to their profit ; while the rum-shops and brothels of Petit 
Goaves and Port Royal were wide open to catch the pieces-of- 
eight.^" A share frequently amounted to from i,ooo to 5,000 
dollars." Persons of note were held for ransom, while the 
remainder were set ashore, or put in a discarded ship. When a 
captured ship was held, she was given to the second in command 
of the Buccaneers. When a town was taken, the inhabitants 

^" "Such of these Pirates are found who will spend two or three 
thousand pieces-of-eight in one night, not leaving themselves, peradven- 
ture, a good shirt to wear on their backs in the morning. My own 
master would buy, on like occasions, a whole pipe of wine, and placing it 
in the street, would force every one that passed by to drink with him; 
threatening also to pistol them, in case they would not do it." — 
Exquemelin. 

^ Within the Tropics, by reason of climatic and other conditions, men 
and women do not hold themselves to as strict account as in the tem- 
perate regions of the earth. 

When remonstrated with for their reckless and heedless lives, one of 
the Buccaneers made this ingenuous reply : "Exposed as we are to such 
a variety of dangers, our life is totally different from that of other men. 
Why should we, who are alive today, and may be dead tomorrow, think 
of hoarding vtp? We reckon only the day we live, but never think upon 
that which is to come. Our concern is rather to squander life away, 
than to preserve it." 



Three hundred eighty-eight 



THB B UCC ANBBRS 

were often locked in a church^ while the looting went on. 
Oftentimes persons were put to the torture to make them dis- 
close hidden treasure. 

It is undoubtedly true, that it was the success of the Buc- 
caneers which forced Spain, in 1670, to make a treaty with 
England. In this "Treaty of America," as it is called, peace was 
declared between Spain and Great Britain ; and the latter should 
hold all lands and colonies in America then in possession of 
British subjects. In addition, both Spaniards and Englishmen 
were forbidden to trade or sail to any places whatsoever under 
the dominion of the other without particular license. This 
restriction on trade stirred up the Buccaneers anew, and brought 
about Morgan's raid on Chagre and Panama. 

On account of local conditions, and in spite of treaties be- 
tween the home governments, there could be "no peace beyond 
the line," so the saying went. As Sir Walter Raleigh, just 
before his beheading, wrote to Lord Carew : "To breake peace 
where there is noe peace, itt cannott bee." By "line" was 
meant the Tropic of Cancer, which was crossed in reaching the 
West Indies and the Spanish Main ; and not the Equator, as we 
now understand the term. In those days, greenhorn sailors and 
passengers received a baptism of sea-water, or paid a forfeit, 
on crossing both Tropics. Or, it may have referred to that 
"line of demarcation," drawn by the Pope one hundred leagues 
west of the Cape de Verd islands. 

The Buccaneers were a New World analogue to the Vikings ; 
such as could only develop in an unsettled country, and where 
great treasure was to be secured by sea and land. Their lives 
were filled with heroic or savage deeds. Dampier always refers 
to the Buccaneers, as privateers. Exquemelin calls them pirates. 
Their one great bond and characteristic was their unvarying 
enmity to Spain. If we include the i6th century privateers, 
this loose confederacy against Spain existed for nearly two 
hundred years. The Buccaneers were utilized, taxed, or hanged 
by the home governments for reasons of state. 

The French people have always regarded with sympathy and 

^ When the Buccaneers entered the Spanish churches, the English 
would shoot at the images, and hack and slash everything with their 
cutlasses. 

"I observed in all the Indian towns under the Spanish Government 
that the images of the Virgin Mary, and of other saints, with which all 
their churches are filled, are painted of an Indian complexion, and partly 
in an Indian dress; but in the towns which are inhabited chiefly by 
Spaniards the saints conform to the Spanish garb and complexion." — 
Dampier. 

Three hundred eighty-nine 



THB BUCCANBBRS 

admiration the daring exploits of their pioneers in the West 
Indies. Says the Abbe Raynal, writing in 1781 — 

"England, France, and Holland, had sent, at different times, 
considerable fleets into the New World. The intemperance of 
the climate, the want of subsistence, the dejection of the troops, 
rendered the vast concerted schemes unsuccessful. Neither of 
these nations acquired any national glory, nor made any consid- 
erable progress by them. Upon the very scene of their dis- 
grace, and on the very spot where they were so shamefully 
repulsed, a small number of adventurers, who had no other 
resources to enable them to carry on a war, but what the war 
itself afforded them, succeeded in the most difficult enterprises. 
They supplied the want of numbers and of power, by their 
activity, their vigilance, and bravery. An unbounded passion 
for liberty and independence, excited and kept up in them that 
energy of soul that enables one to undertake and execute every 
thing; it produced that vigor, that superiority in action, which 
the most approved military discipline, the most powerful com- 
binations of strength, the best regulated governments, the most 
honorable and most striking rewards and marks of distinction, 
will never be able to excite." * * * 

"Accordingly, the history of past times does not offer, nor 
will that of future times ever produce, an example of such an 
association; which is almost as marvellous as the discovery of 
the New World. Nothing but this event could have given rise 
to it, by collecting together, in those distant regions, all the men 
of the highest impetuosity, and energy of soul that had ever 
appeared in our States." Vol. V., p. 78. 

One of the first Buccaneers we find mention of was Pierre Le 
Grand (Peter the Great), a native of Dieppe. With only 
twenty-eight men in an open boat, he captured the largest and 
richest galleon of the plate-fleet, commanded by the Spanish 
vice-admiral. With sword in one hand and pistol in the other, 
the Buccaneers boarded her in the dusk of the evening, and 
seized the gun-room and cabin. The captain, looking up from 
his game of cards, saw a pistol leveled at his breast, and 
exclaimed: "Jesus bless us! Are these devils, or what are 
they?" Retaining certain persons for ransom, the Buccaneer 
chief set the Spanish crew ashore on Cape Tiburon, the south- 
western extremity of Haiti. Peter's head was as big as his 
body, for he sailed his rich prize straight away to France ; and 
never went abuccaneering again. 

Three hundred ninety 



THB BUCCANBBRS 

Men of respectable lineage, on joining the Buccaneers, fre- 
quently dropped their real name and adopted some sobriquet. 
Another flibustier, known to history as Alexandre, Bras-de-Fer 
(Iron Arm), duplicated the exploit of Pierre Le Grand, and 
took a large Spanish ship of war. Still another Frenchman, a 
gentleman of Languedoc, by the name of Montbars, became 
so embittered against the Spaniards that he voyaged to the West 
Indies and asked the privilege of joining the Buccaneers,"^ say- 
ing — "I will head you, not as your commander, but as the fore- 
most to expose myself to danger." He was so zealous and pro- 
ficient in slaying Spaniards as to acquire the surname of "The 
Exterminator." 

As Spanish commerce was driven from the Main, and the 
plate-fleets and Galeones ventured only in strong convoys, the 
Buccaneers directed their energies to the Spanish settlements. 
The first free-booter to begin invasion by land was Lewis Scott, 
who looted San Francisco, in Campeche. In 1654, French and 
English Buccaneers ascended in canoes a river of the Mosquito 
shore, just south of Capt Gracias a Dios, marched overland 
to Nueva Segovia, which they plundered, and then returned 
down the river. Captain John Davis went up to Eake Nica- 
ragua, and sacked Granada and Leon of plate and jewels. On 
his return from this expedition, Davis was made Admiral of 
seven or eight vessels, and took and looted St. Augustine in 
Florida, in face of the garrison of two hundred Spanish sol- 
diers. Captain Mansfield,"* too, invaded Nicaragua, captured 
Granada, and reached, it is said, the shore of the South Sea. 

In 1683, twelve hundred French flibustiers, led by Van Horn, 
Grammont, and Laurent de Graaf, sailed in six vessels for Vera 
Cruz (San Juan de Ulloa). By raising Spanish colors, they 
got in the harbor without opposition,, shut the people in the 
churches, took a lot of plunder and slaves, and escaped without 
any fighting. 

The worst and most inhuman of the Buccaneer captains was 
Francois Lolonnois, a native of France from near the sands of 

^ Raveneau de Lussan went into buccaneering to obtain means to pay 
his debts. 

^*At one time Mansfield landed at Port Matina, and marched against 
Cartago, the old capital of Costa Rica, At Turialba he was opposed by 
the Governor ; when the Virgin appeared with a host of heavenly war- 
riors, and scared off the Buccaneers. This is very interesting; and, if 
true, we cannot blame the Buccaneers for retreating. For years after, 
the_ people of Cartago performed yearly pilgrimage to the Virgin's 
shrine at Ujarraz. 

Three hundred ninety-one 



THH B UCC AMBERS 

Olonne, from which he took his name. Lolonnois came out to 
the Caribbee islands as a bondsman, and became an engage. 
After his time was up, he went to Haiti, and served so well as a 
common mariner that the Governor of Tortuga, M. de la 
Place,^' gave him a ship. On one of his first raids, in Campeche, 
Lolonnois was wounded by the Spaniards, and left for dead on 
the field. It is related that he tore out the hearts of his victims 
and devoured them; and drank the blood as it dripped from 
his sabre. He cut off the heads of ninety Spaniards with his 
own hand, and flung the crews of four vessels into the sea. 
Lolonnois, with another commander, Michel le Basque (often 
written, Michael de Basco), led a party of 650 men to the Gulf 
of Venezuela. The fort guarding the entrance to Lake Mara- 
caibo was taken, and 250 men put to the sword. The Bucca- 
neers then proceeded to loot the city of Maracaibo on the west 
shore, and the town of Gibraltar at the southern extremity of 
the lake. By plunder and torture, Lolonnois gathered 400,000 
crowns on this expedition, 

Lolonnois has been called the third chief of the flibustiers, 
his predecessors being Roc-de-la-Roche, and Bras-de-Fer. 
Shortly after the Maracaibo venture, Lolonnois was captured 
by the Darien Indians, cut in quarters, roasted and eaten ; and, 
the French chronicler adds, "Que Dieu lui fasse paix et veuille 
avoir son ame, puisque les sauvages ont eu son corps." 

French writers, including Pere Charlevoix, a Jesuit father, 
usually speak of him with praise. Exquemelin, himself a Buc- 
caneer, probably gives a truer estimate of Lolonnois when he 
writes : "Thus ends the history of the life and miserable death 
of that infernal wretch L'Ollonais, who, full of horrid, execra- 
ble and enormous deeds, and also debtor to so much innocent 
blood, died by cruel and butcherly hands, such as his own were 
in the course of his life." 

The alleged portrait of Lolonnois, depicted in the books, fully 
confirms this estimate of his character. 

The ablest and most popular of the Buccaneers in the Carib- 
bean Sea was Edward Mansfield (Mansveldt), who was their 
leader or Admiral. He had them so well organized that he con- 
ceived the idea of founding an independent Buccaneer state, 
with laws and a flag of their own. To establish a headquarters, 
he collected a force of 15 vessels and 500 men, and, in 1664, 
drove the Spanish garrison out of Santa Catarina^* (St, 

'' Another account says it was "Capitaine Roc, Seigneur de la Roche," 
who gave Lolonnois the boat. 

Three hundred ninety-two 



THE BUCCANBBRS 

Catherine, or Old Providence), a small island off the Mosquito 
coast. On this expedition, Henry Morgan was second in com- 
mand. Mansfield garrisoned the fort with loo Buccaneers, 
under command of Le Sieur Simon, and returned to Jamaica 
for more recruits. Governor Modyford of Jamaica, usually 
friendly to the Buccaneers, opposed this scheme, as it removed 
their trade from Jamaica, and he would lose his share for 
issuing commissions. Failing to receive encouragement here, 
Mansfield sailed for Tortuga, in order to interest the flibustiers 
m his plan. During the passage he was suddenly taken ill, and 
shortly afterwards died. Another account says that Mansfield 
was captured by the Spaniards, and hanged in Havana. It was 
not long before Santa Catarina was besieged by a large Spanish 
force. Le Sieur Simon, hearing of Mansfield's death, and 
receiving no reinforcements, was obliged to surrender the island. 
On the death of Mansfield, Morgan was regarded as the 
chief of the English Buccaneers. His exploits were so impor- 
tant and so interesting to English readers, that they will be 
narrated in a separate chapter. 

^ Often written Santa Catalina. 

Puerto Bella, in recent years, has occupied such an inconspicuous 
position that it is well to recall its importance in the early days and 
the many interesting events which have occurred there. This place 
was not only the entry-port to the Isthmus, and to the city of Panama 
but to all the west coast of South America, and even for a share of the 
trade with the Philippine Islands. 

The ancient city of Puerto Bello, like the present town, was situated 
at the head of the bay of the same name, at the base of the mountains 
which surround the entire port in the form of a horse-shoe. The town 
consisted of one principal street extending along the shore, with smaller 
streets crossing it, running from the skirt of the hill to the beach In 
Its prime, m the time of the galleons and fair, Puerto Bello contained 
130 houses, a custom house, hospital, governor's house, great church 
and convents, as before related; as well as the four suburbs, Triana' 
Merced, Guinea, and the Shambles. At Ulloa's visit, in 1735, he noted 
scarcely 30 white families in the place Numerous streams of fresh 
water poured down from the hillsides, forming pools in which the 
people bathed every morning at eleven o'clock. It was thought that 
the water caused dysentery. 

Though the climate of Puerto Bello was better than that of Nombre 
de Dios, yet it was hot, humid, and sickly. "It destroys the vigor of 
nature, and often untimely cuts the thread of life." Horses and asses 
refused to breed, horned cattle lost their flesh, and hens brought from 
Cartagena and Panama declined to lay eggs. Child-birth was held to be 
uniformly fatal to both mother and infant, for which reason pregnant 
women moved to Cruces or Panama. Spanish galleons and other Euro- 
pean ships, remaining any time at Puerto Bello, lost a half, or at 
least a third, of their men; and, on this account, the duration of the 

Three hundred ninety-three 



THE BUCCANBBRS 

annual fair was reduced from 60. to 40 days. After the busy period of 
the Peria, or fair, and the ships and traders had departed, came the 
Tienipo Muerto, or dead time, when silence and tranquility resumed 
their former sway. 

Tigers prowled about the streets at night, carrying off fowls, pigs, 
and sometimes even human beings. Venomous snakes were abundant, 
and the myriads of toads in the plazas and streets exceeded belief. The 
winds from the northeast were called brisas, and those from the south- 
west were known as vendahles. Rain fell in torrents, accompanied by 
lightning and thunder, the noise being prolonged by reverberations from 
the sides of the surrounding mountains. The bowlings of monkeys 
added to the din and tumult, especially when a man-of-war fired the 
morning and evening gun. 

To the northwest of the city was a small bay, called La Caldera, or the 
kettle, having four and a half fathoms of water, sheltered from every 
wind, and excellent for careening vessels. To the northeast of the town 
emptied the Cascajal (pebbles) river, which was salt for a league and a 
half from its mouth, and contained alligators. 

One of the mountains surrounding the harbor, from San Felipe on 
the north, around to the opposite point on the south, was the peak called 
Monte Capira, which stood at the extremity of the port, in the direction 
of the road to Panama. This mount was looked upon as a barometer 
for fortelling changes in the weather and seasons. The summit was 
always covered with dense and dark clouds, called its capilla (cap or 
hood), from which was corruptly formed the name Capira. When these 
clouds increased in blackness and descended lower than usual, it was 
a sure sign of a storm, and the people would say, "Calarse el gorro 
Capira" — Capira is putting on his night-cap. On the other hand, when 
the cap of clouds became lighter and ascended higher, it as certainly 
indicated the approach of fair weather. 

On the north point of the harbor's mouth, a kilometer in width, stood 
the fort called San P'elipe Todo de Hierro, which ships had to approach 
within half-shot, on account of the rocks on the opposite point. On the 
south side of the port, southwest of the city, on the declivity of a hill, 
stood the castle called St. Jago de la Gloria, which was considered to be 
both larger and stronger than San Felipe, the Iron Fort. At the 
extremity of a point or causeway, half a furlong in length, facing 
the middle of the town, was a third fort, called San Jeronimo, seen by 
every visitor of the present day. At different periods, still other castles 
and batteries were erected. 

Among the English privateers frequenting the Caribbean sea, in the 
sixteenth century, was Master Andrew Barker of Bristol. Like Haw- 
kins and Drake, he had suffered losses at the hands of the Spaniards, 
being accused before the Inquisition, and his goods confiscated. "In 
recompense of which injurie (for that no suite prevaileth against the 
inquisition of Spaine)," he sailed from Pljanouth, in the year 1576, in 
two ships, the Ragged Staff and the Bear, to prey upon the Spaniards in 
the West Indies. 

Making some trifling captures. Barker arrived at Cape Vela, and then 
sailed to the bay of Tolu, about 18 leagues southwest from Cartagena. 
Here the English took a frigate and secured gold and silver to the 
value of SCO pounds, as well as some stones called emeralds, whereof 
one very large one, set in gold, was found tied secretly about the thigh 

Three hundred ninety-four 



EXPLANATION OF THE PRECEDING PLAN 

a. — The Baftimentos [about 6 Leagues from Puerto Bello] between 
which and the Shore Captain Parker failed with his Veffels in the 
night. The Paffage is very dangerous by reafon of the many Shoals. 

b. — An If land called Cagathoe [or Cagada.] 

c. — The Place where the Ships rode: There Sir Francis Drake's 
Coffin was thrown overboard. [Hence it is called Drake's Island.] 

d.— The Eaftermoft Fort, called St. Philip's, with 35 Pieces of Brafs 
Ordnance and 50 Soldiers, who have a lodging near it. 

e. — The Place where he anchored when the Fort hailed him. 

/. — A Houfe built on a Frigat, and a fmall Bay hard by. 

g. — The Weftermoft Fort, called St. Diago's [or Jago's] with 30 
Soldiers and 5 Canon, 4 of which were carry'd over to the great Fort. 
They were bringing the Sth towards the Town to play againft the 
Englifh as they paffed to and from their Boats : but Parker fent Cap- 
tain Gyles, who took it from them with the lofs of one Man only. 

h. — Another Fort or Platform, wherein were no Ordnance. 

i. — A Town called Triana, where the Captain landed with his two 
Shallops, having with him but 28 or 30 Men, with whom he marched 
to the great Town after caufing Triana to be burnt. 

k. — A Fort which they were then building on a Hill, with a River 
clof e by it ; which coming from the Mountains falls into the great 
River [or Harbour] this Fort will command both the Town and River 
[as did Gloria Caftle which ftood in the fame Place.] 

/. — The Key where the two Pinnaces landed the reft of the Men at 
the great Town, an Hour after the Captain landed. 

m. — A great Storehoufe (with Dwellings in it) full of large Timber 
for building Ships. 

n. — The Place where two Friggats rode, which were taken : one of 
them had three Guns, which they turned upon the Enemy marching 
againft them from the Weftern Fort. 

o. — The King's Houfe; where were two Pieces of Brafs mounted on 
Field Carriages, and 253 Soldiers belonging to the Houfe and Town; 
befides a Company of Town's-Men, who ufually keep their Court of 
Guard in the King's Houfe, which is full of Treafure when the 
Galleons arrive, but at no other time elfe. Here Lieutenant Barnet 
was fhot on the Side of his Head and through his Ear, and Captain 
Gyles, coming to fecond him was fhot over the Breaft and through 
his Arm. 

p. — The Market Place or Court of Guard. 

g. — Certain very handfome Houfes, where dwelt the Serjeant Major, 
with other Chief Commanders. Here the English kept their Court 
of Guard. 

r. — A Row of Houfes where divers Merchants dwelt. 

J'. — The Bridge, with a great River running under it, which defcends 
from the Mountains and falls into the River [or Harbour.] 

t. — The Alcaye's Houfe or Prifon, who fled with a fair Gold Chain 
about his Neck. 

V. — Saint Mary's Church. 

X. — The Street where Pedro Melendus [Pedro Melendes] advanced 
with 60 Soldiers againft Captain Parker who had but 8 or 9 with him. 

y. — The Way leading to Pennemau [or Panama] full of Artificers; 
which was barrocaded and defended by Gyles. 

2. — The Houfe where Pedro Melendus dwelt. 

A. — A Street full of all forts of Artificers; with two others Streets 
or Ways leading to the Weftermost Fnrts. 

B. — Another Church and Street of Artificers. 

C. — The Out-Houfes of the Negroes, which were burned. 

D. — The Place [Being the Ifland of Buena Aventura] where Cap- 
tain Parker, after quitting Puerto Bello, rode with the Frigats, Pin- 
naces and Shallops, till Captain Rawlins joined him with two Ships 
from the other Ifland, [or Drake's Ifland.] 



THE B UCC ANBBRS 

of a friar. Some Spanish men-of-war came after them, and the priva- 
teers departed for Nombre de Dios and the river of Chagre. At the 
latter place, Barker landed ten of his men, who travelled for three or 
four days up into the woods, seeking the Simerons for guides and allies 
in some venture by land. The party did not find the negroes, and 
returned safely to the ships, yet most of them, with divers others of the 
expedition, presently fell sick; and within 14 days, eight or nine of the 
Englishmen died of a disease called there the Calentura, "which is a 
hote and vehenient fever." Between the mouth of the Chagres and 
Veragua, Captain Barker captured another frigate, the crew of which 
was set on shore. In this vessel was found some gold, and among her 
guns were four cast pieces of ordnance, which the Spaniards had 
taken the year before from the ship which John Oxenham hid on the 
coast of Darien. Captain Barker carried these guns back to the Scilly 
Isles, near Cornwall. 

In November, 1601, Captain William Parker set out from Plymouth 
with two ships, a pinnace, and two shallops, carrying a force of 378 men. 
He crossed over to Tierra Firme, touching first at Margarita ; and then 
to the Rancheria, or pearl-fishery, on the island of Cubagua, a little to 
the southwest, which he captured after a fight with the governor of 
Cumana. Parker received pearls to the value of 500 pounds as ransom 
for his prisoners, and sailed away to the west. Off Cabo de la Vela, 
he took a large Portuguese slaver, with 370 negroes for Cartagena, which 
was released for 500 pounds. Continuing westward, and not being 
able to double the isles of Las Cabezas, the ships were driven Into the 
Ensenada, or gulf of Acle. Parker stood to the west again, and put 
into those islands, whence he sailed with 150 men, in two pinnaces and 
two shallops, to the islands of Bastimentos, which were peopled and 
fruitful. Here taking six or seven negroes for guides, Capt. Parker 
"prefently entered the Mouth of the River of Puerto Bella the 7th of 
February, about Two o'clock in the Morning, the Moon fhining very 
bright." 

The English were hailed by the strong and stately castle of Saint 
Philip, and answering in Spanish that they were from Cartagena, were 
told to anchor, which they did. But an hour later, Parker took about 
30 men in the two shallops, and started up the river (as the privateers 
generally called the bay or port of Puerto Bello). They were soon 
hailed and ordered to stop by the smaller fort, San Jago, which stood 
opposite to the great castle. The Captain proceeded, and landed at the 
first part of the town, called Triana, which he set on fire. Parker then 
marched over a little brook into the "great and rich Town of Puerto 
Bello," and attacked the king's treasure-house. 

At this time. Captains Fugars and Lawriman arrived in the pinnaces 
with 120 English, and joined in the fight. Pedro Melendes, the 
Governor of the town, advanced at the head of his soldiers, and was shot 
through his target and both arms at the first volley. Among the 
English, Captain Giles and Lieutenant Barnet were wounded. The 
Spaniards were forced to retire to the treasure-house, where they held 
out till almost day. Melendes was wounded in eight more places, and 
at length taken prisoner by Captain Ward, who was shot through both 
thighs. In consideration of his brave resistance, Parker directed his 
surgeon to dress the wounds of the Governor, and released him without 
ransom ; more generous treatment than his great uncle Pedro Melendes 

Three hundred ninety-five 



THE B UCC ANBBRS 

had accorded to John Ribault, Laudoniere, and the French in Florida, 
of whom he cruelly murdered all that fell into his hands. 

Captain Parker got 10,000 ducats in the treasury. Had he arrived 
seven days sooner, he would have secured 120,000 ducats. The English 
men were given the spoil of the town, which amounted to no small value 
in plate, money, and merchandise. The next day, February 8th, 1602, 
Parker posted guards, and built a barricade at the end of the streets 
leading to Panama, where Captain Giles was often attacked by the 
Spaniards who had fled from the town, always repulsing them with loss. 
The new town of Puerto Bello already possessed two goodly churches 
quite finished, and three small forts on the town-side of the harbor, in 
addition to the great St. Philip on the north shore. Parker did no 
injury to the main town, nor did he attempt to take the forts. At night, 
February 8th, he sailed out the port, all the forts firing, including 28 
great shot from St. Philip. The boats were not struck, but a musket-ball 
from the western (or southern) shore struck Captain Parker in the 
elbow and came out at the wrist. He rode behind the isle of Buena 
Aventura, which lay between his pinnaces and fort St. Jago, until Cap- 
tain Rawlings, the Vice-Admiral, came up with the two ships, which had 
been waiting eastward of the castle of St. Philip "under the Rock where 
Sir Francis Drake's cofiin was thrown over-board." 

The next day, February 9th, Parker sailed back towards the east, and 
put in the good bay of Sambo, twelve leagues east of Cartagena. Don 
Pedro de Coronna, Governor of that city, pulled his beard, and swore he 
would give a mule-load of silver to have but a sight of Parker and his 
company. He sent out two galleys, a brigantine, and two or three 
frigates to attack the English, "but they did not think proper to do it." 
Parker took in water, captured some more prizes, and then went to 
Jamaica. A little later he sailed through the gulf of Bahama, and 
reached the Azores, where he left his Vice-Admiral and two pinnaces to 
seek further prizes. Captain Parker departed for home, and arrived at 
Plymouth on the 6th of May, 1602. 

In 1678-9 (as they wrote it in those days) the famous Buccaneer, 
Captain Coxon (or Croxen) sailed from Port Royal in 5 ships, with 
Captains Essex, Allison, Rose, and Sharp, and upwards of 300 men. 
They had a commission, costing 10 pieces-of-eight, from the Governor 
of Jamaica to cruise for three months only, but by the help of a little 
forgery (common on those occasions) they made shift to enlarge the 
time to three years. They came to the islands of Pinos, and then to 
Fuerte island. About the middle of the San Bias group, Coxon met a 
French man-of-war, commanded by Captain La Sound, and together 
they ranged up and down the coast of the Isthmus, but found no Spanish 
vessels to capture. 

Coxon and La Sound then resolved to attack Puerto Bello, hoping to 
meet with as rich plunder as did Henry Morgan, ten years before. 
Leaving the fleet at some of the islands, 200 men proceeded in 14 or 15 
canoes, and landed on the west side of Port Scrivan, 16 or 17 leagues 
east of Puerto Bello. This occasioned a wearisome march by land, but 
was better than going to the Bastimentos or other place nearer the 
town, thereby avoiding the scouts and look-outs which the Spaniards 
always kept in their neighborhood. 

The Buccaneers were three nights on the way, hiding by day, and 
were not discovered until within an hour's march of Puerto Bello, when 

Three hundred ninety-six 



THB B UCCANBBRS 

spied by a negro, who ran ahead to give the alarm. The privateers 
followed in such haste that they secured possession of the town before 
the Spaniards could form to oppose them. But few lives were lost. No 
attempt was made on the forts, the garrisons, as usual, not venturing 
out to attack the enemy. The Buccaneers looted the houses, and 
remained two days, expecting all the time to be assailed by the Span- 
iards, and fearing that their retreat might be cut off. Before departing, 
the booty was divided, amounting to about 40 pounds a man, including 
those left to guard the ships; besides what extraordinary shares were 
drawn by their officers, owners, surgeons, carpenters, and those losing 
limbs or killed in the expedition. 

A Spanish report states that, in this same year, 1679, Juan Guartem, 
Eduardo Blomar, and Bartolome Charpes, passed up the Mandinga 
river, crossed over to the Pacific slope, and plundered and burnt the 
town of Chepo. These freebooters were tried for their crimes by the 
Viceroy, and burned in effigy at Santa Fe de Bogata, while the very 
lively originals were yet ravaging the coasts on both sides of the 
Isthmus. 

Bdward Vernon, after whom was named Mount Vernon, the home of 
Washington, when a member of the English Parliament, arose in that 
body and declared that he could take Puerto Bello "with fix Ships 
only." The British government took him at his word, and gave him a 
commission as Admiral, and a fleet, to sail against the Spaniards in the 
West Indies. On July 20th, 1739, Vernon left England with nine men- 
of-war and one sloop. At Jamaica, the Governor let him have 240 
land troops, and on November 5th, 1739, Admiral Vernon sailed from 
Port Royal with seven ships, bound for the Isthmus. His vessels were 
the Burford, 70 guns and 500 men, Capt. Thomas Watson, under the 
Admiral ; the Hampton Court, 70 guns and 495 men, Capt. Digby Dent, 
under Commodore Charles Brown; the Princess Louisa, 60 guns and 
400 men, Capt. Thomas Waterhouse ; the Stratford, 60 guns and 400 
men, Capt. Thomas Trevor ; the Worcester, 60 guns and 400 men, Capt. 
Perry Main ; the Norwich, 50 guns and 300 men, Capt. Richard Herbert 
and also the Sherness, which Vernon ordered to cruise off Cartagena, 
"difdaining to appear before Puerto Bello with one ship more than he 
had engaged to take it with." 

Owing to contrary winds, the fleet did not arrive in sight of Puerto 
Bello until the 20th, when they anchored six leagues off shore for 
the night. At break of day, November 21st, 1739, Vernon's ships 
advanced in line of battle, piloted by James Rentone, captain of a 
merchant vessel, chasing some guarda-costas into the harbor. The 
Spaniards felt so confident of their superiority, that they feared the 
English would not enter the port, and showed a flag of defiance from the 
Iron Castle (San Felipe). 

Admiral Vernon led his fleet in the Hampton Court, with the blue 
flag at the fore and the bloody flag at the main, the channel compelling 
him to approach within half-shot of the Iron Fort, which at this time 
mounted 100 guns, and was garrisoned with 300 soldiers. The wind 
died away, and the Admiral anchored opposite the fort, and in about 
twenty-five minutes fired above 400 balls against San Felipe. The 
Norwich now came up, and in twenty-eight minutes the Worcester, 
followed by the Burford. The English cannonade began to drive the 
Spaniards from their guns, and Vernon ordered Mr. Broderick, with 40 

Three hundred ninety-seven 



THE BUCCANEERS 

sailors and a company of marines, to land in the very front of the 
Lower Battery, comprising 22 guns. The Burford was nearest to the 
fort, and subject to a terrific fire from the Spaniards, but her guns 
commanded the lower shore battery, and covered the landing parties. 
As Captain Downing lead a company to assault the Iron Fort, he 
commanded the sailors to halt, and go up in regular order. "Never 
let us halt before we are lame," replied one of the sailors, with a great 
oath, and pushed on with the rest, climbed the first battery, struck the 
Spanish colors, and clapt up an English Jack in their room. 

The Spanish gun-boats driven into the port, not being able to make 
any defence themselves, sent their men to the Iron Fort, to help man 
the guns. But the garrison was now running away, and soon showed a 
white flag. The Stratford now came in; but Vernon took the Iron 
Fort (San Felipe) with only four ships, in two hours. The Coman- 
dante of the fort, with 5 of his officers, and 35 men, made a last stand 
in a strong room, but surrendered when Mr. Broderick fired a gun or 
two through the door. 

During the fight with the Iron Fort, the Spanish forts on the other 
side of the harbor also kept firing at the British. The Hampton Court 
tried her lower tier at them, and in a few minutes was so fortunate as 
to strike down the flag-staff of Gloria Castle, and carrying it over into 
the town, the ball passed through several houses, including that of the 
governor. The English guns sunk a sloop near Fort Geronimo. Night 
put an end to the fight, so far. 

The next morning the English held a council on board the Commo- 
dore, and as there was no wind, it was resolved to warp up nearer the 
forts at night; but the Spaniards showed a white flag over Gloria, and 
sent off a boat bearing proposals of surrender, signed by Governor Don 
Francisco Martinez de Retez, and Don Francisco de Abaroa, com- 
mander of the guarda-costas. Vernon let the garrisons march out with 
the honors of war, but retained all the cannon, and the ships in the 
harbor, the last being the very war-vessels which had injured the 
English merchants, and brought about the war. Captain Newton, with 
his company of 120 Jamaica soldiers, was sent ashore to hold the forts. 
Ten thousand dollars were found, which Vernon ordered to be dis- 
tributed among his men. The crews of the Spanish ships left their 
posts on the night of the 21st, and fell to plundering the town, so the 
people appealed to the victors for protection. 

Admiral Vernon was joined by the remainder of his fleet, and started 
in to blow up the forts. He sent a message to the President of Panama, 
demanding that the English factors of the South Sea Company there 
confined be released ; and Mr. Humphrey and Dr. Wright, with their 
servants, were delivered up. 

After several weeks stay at Puerto Bello, Vernon returned to Jamaica, 
to refit his ships for the attack on Chagre. Early in the following year, 
the Admiral departed from Port Royal with 6 men-of-war, 2 bomb- 
ketches, 2 fire-ships, and 3 tenders. After dropping 350 bombs into 
Cartagena, and stopping again at Puerto Bello, Vernon arrived off the 
mouth of the Chagres river. In the afternoon of March 22nd, 1740, 
Admiral Vernon began to bombard the castle of San Lorenzo, and kept 
firing leisurely till 11 o'clock on Monday the 24th, when the Spaniards 
hung out a flag. Captain Knowles went ashore, and returned with Don 
Juan Carlos Gutierrez Zevallos [Ceballos], captain of foot, and 
Castellan. 

Ihree hundred ninety-eight. > 



THE BUCCANBBRS 

The terms of capitulation were soon arranged, the Spanish troops 
marched out, and by 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Captain Knowles and 
120 men took possession. Much merchandise was foimd in the custom 
house, on the opposite side of the river. This building was burnt, and 
also some guarda-costas in the port. On the 29th, Vernon blew up the 
Castle of San Lorenzo, and on the 30th he departed from Chagre. 
April 1st, 1740, Vernon was back at Puerto Bello. 

During this conflict — commonly known as the "War of Jenkins' 
Ear," because Capt. Jenkins had his ear removed by the commander of a 
guarda-costa — England planned to take the city of Panama, and hold 
the key to the South Sea. The next year, Vernon sailed again from 
Port Royal to Puerto Bello, intending to march over the Isthmus, and 
operate against Panama in conjunction with another force under 
Admiral Geo. Anson, who had sailed through the Strait of Magellan, 
and was attacking Spanish ports and commerce on the Pacific side. 
Vernon's men became infected with the Isthmian fevers and died by 
hundreds, and in council on board the Boyne, 28th October, 1741, it was 
unanimously agreed that, from the best advice they had been able to 
collect, it was impracticable to advance with cannon to Panama. 

Hearing that Vernon had failed to take Cartagena, Anson made no 
attempt on Panama, but went on around the world; capturing, near 
Manila, a Spanish ship worth a million and a half pesos. 

A little later, San Lorenzo was attacked by three British frigates, 
which were beaten off by the Castellan, Capt. Don Juan de Hermida. 

In 1745, Capt. Wm. Kinhills battered Puerto Bello with 5,000 cannon- 
balls, so it is claimed, for having been denied the restitution of a prize. 

In the years 1751-2, the three castles at Puerto Bello, and the castle 
of San Lorenzo at Chagre, were thoroughly rebuilt by Don Ignacio de 
Sala, lieut-gen. and engineer, governor of Cartagena. 

The late war with England, but more especially the previous raids 
and incursions of the Buccaneers, drove Spanish trade and travel from 
the Isthmus. Ships to and from the Pacific coast now went through 
Magellan's strait, or around Cape Horn; and the Puerto Bello-Chagres 
Panama route ceased, for a time, to be the great highway of commerce. 



Three hundred ninety-nine 




From Exquemelin, De Americaensche Zee-roovcrs, 1678. 

SIR HENRY MORGAN — OFTEN CALLED JOHN MORGAN. 
The original of many subsequent portraits. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



HENRY MORGAN 

AND 

THE SACK OF PANAMA. 



"Oh, what a set of Vagabundos, 

Sons of Neptune, sons of Mars, 

Raked from todos otros mundos, 

IvEscars, Gascons, Portsmouth tars, 
Prison mate and dock-yard fellow, 
Blades to Meg and Molly dear. 
Off to capture Porto Bello 

Sailed with Morgan the Buccaneer!" 

— Edmund C. Stedman. 




MONG English people, the best known of the 
Buccaneers is Henry Morgan. Spanish writers 
often call him Juan Morgan, and he is some- 
times designated Henry John Morgan. Morgan 
was born about 1635, at Llanrhymny, Glam- 
organshire, in Wales ; and was the eldest son of 
Robert Morgan, "a rich Yoeman or farmer of 
good quality." While yet young, he left home 
and went to Bristol, where he was kidnapped 
and sent to Barbados, at which place he was 
sold as a bondsman, like so many other Euro- 
peans who went to the West Indies at this 
period. 
After serving his time, Morgan went to Jamaica, where he 
joined the Buccaneers and rose rapidly into favor. His uncle, 
Colonel Edward Morgan, came out as Lieutenant-Governor of 
Jamaica in 1664, but died the following year in the attack on St. 
Eustatius. Henry Morgan was not in this expedition, but was 
one of the captains in Mansfield's expedition against Curacao, 
in 1666. 

After several ventures, he accumulated enough money, with 
the help of some comrades, to buy a ship. Morgan was elected 
captain, and succeeded in capturing several Spanish vessels off 
the coast of Campeche. Probably he was that Morgan who, in 



Four hundred one 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

January, 1665, went up the Tabasco river in Campeche, with 
Captains Morris and Jackman, when they took and plundered 
Vildemos ; after which, they seized Truxillo, in Honduras ; 
and then went up the San Juan river to Lake Nicaragua, and 
sacked the city of Granada. He attracted the attention of 
Captain Mansfield, who made him his vice-admiral in the attack 
on Santa Catarina. 

Shortly after the death of Mansfield, in 1668, Morgan cap- 
tured and looted the town of Puerto Principe, in Cuba. The 
Spaniards still claimed Jamaica, and Governor Modyford had 
instigated this expedition to discover plans of an attempt to 
retake the island. In this afifair, the French members of his 
company began those complaints of unfair treatment which con- 
tinued throughout Morgan's career. He got but fifty thousand 
pesos, as a Spanish prisoner aboard his ship escaped to the 
shore and warned the people. 

His next expedition was against Puerto Bello, which was, 
says Exquemelin, the strongest possession of the King of Spain 
in the West Indies, excepting Havana and Cartagena. "It is 
judged to be the strongest place that the King of Spain pos- 
sesses in all the West Indies, excepting two, that is to say 
Havana and Cartagena. Here are the castles, almost inex- 
pugnable, that defend the city, being situated at the entry of 
the port; so that no ship or boat can pass without permission. 
The garrison consists of three hundred soldiers, and the town 
constantly inhabited by four hundred families, more or less. 
The merchants dwell not here, but only reside for awhile, when 
the galleons come or go from Spain ; by reason of the unhealthi- 
ness of the air, occasioned by certain vapours that exhale from 
the mountains. Notwithstanding, their chief warehouses are at 
Porto Bello, howbeit their habitations be all the year long at 
Panama ; whence they bring the plate upon mules at such times 
as the fair begins, and when the ships, belonging to the Com- 
pany of Negroes, arrive here to sell slaves." Morgan did not 
disclose his plans, but sailed with nine vessels, and about four 
hundred and sixty men, nearly all English, towards the Isth- 
mus. When he told his captains and men of his intention to 
attack Puerto Bello, some of them objected on the grounds of 
his small force ; to which Morgan replied, "If our number is 
small, our hearts are great, and the fewer persons we are, the 
more union and better shares we shall have in the spoils." They 
sailed first to Puerto de Naos, now known as Limon Bay, the 
port of Colon. The following places are not so easily identified : 

Four hundred two 



THB SACK OF PANAMA 

"Being come to this place, they mounted the river in their ships, 
as far as another harbour called Puerto Pontin [Ponton] ; 
where they came to an anchor. Here they put themselves 
immediately into boats and canoes, leaving in the ships only 
a few men to keep them and conduct them the next day to 
the port. About midnight they came to a certain place called 
Estera longa Lemos,' where they all went on shore, and marched 
by land to the first posts of the city." 

Morgan was much assisted by one of his crew, an English- 
man, who formerly had been a prisoner in Puerto Bello. It 
was rumored that several Englishmen, among them Prince 
Maurice, were then confined in the dungeons. The place was 
surrounded, and the sentinel captured. Surrender was de- 
manded, otherwise no quarter would be given. Puerto Bello 
was strongly fortified, and garrisoned by three hundred troops, 
besides four hundred citizens capable of bearing arms. The 
castle of Triana in the western part of the town was first 
attacked and captured. Because its defenders refused to sur- 
render, Morgan shut them up in the castle and fired the maga- 
zine ; thereby destroying both castle and garrison. In the mean- 
time the town people had fled, first hiding their valuables or 
casting them into wells. 

The Governor rallied his men and retired to the strongest 
remaining fort, where he kept up the fight from break of day 
till noon. Morgan was almost in despair of taking the castle, 
when he conceived the plan of having a number of wide wooden 
ladders made, so broad that three or four men at once might 
ascend by them, which he forced the priests and nuns to erect 
against the walls. The Buccaneers then ascended these ladders, 
using the religious persons as a shield, and throwing fire- 
balls and pots of powder among the Spaniards, which overcame 
them so that they asked quarter. 

The priests and nuns begged the Governor by all the saints in 
heaven to surrender, and to their prayers were added the en- 
treaties of his wife and daughter, but the brave man would not 
yield. He did not hesitate to fire on the priests who were forced 

^ Estero Longarremos. From Union Bay, the Buccaneers went east of 
Manzanillo Island (Colon), and anchored in Puerto Manzanillo. They 
then took to the small boats and rowed northeast by sea, arount Punta 
Manzanillo, until they came to Estero Longarremos. The point of land 
east of Punta Manzanillo is still called Punta Longarremos. 



Pour hundred three 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

in front of the Buccaneers, and killed not a few of his own 
soldiers because they would not stand to their arms. 

All the Spaniards in the castle were killed, or craved quarter, 
except the Governor. When asked to surrender, he constantly 
answered : "By no means ; I had rather die as a valiant soldier 
than be hanged as a coward." The pirates endeavored to take 
the governor alive, but he defended himself so obstinately that 
they were forced to kill him. The castle commanding the 
entrance to the port was the next to fall. 

All prisoners were shut up in one of the castles, and the 
wounded Buccaneers placed in charge of some female slaves, 
Morgan telling them : "Your groans shall supply the place of 
clothing for your wounds." The victors then proceeded to 
loot the town and indulge in all manner of drunkenness and 
debauchery. The next day, a number of citizens were put to 
the torture to discover where they had hidden their riches. 

Morgan sent two prisoners as messengers to the President 
of Panama to procure a ransom of one hundred thousand 
pieces-of -eight, or Porto Bello would be consumed to ashes. 
Instead of sending the money, the President started with a body 
of troops, stated to be fifteen hundred, to relieve Porto Bello ; 
but was ambushed and put to flight by one hundred Buccaneers, 
"at a narrow passage through which of necessity he ought 
to pass." 

Morgan had brought up his ships, which gave him a secure 
retreat; so he remained in the town, and threatened to kill all 
his prisoners and blow the castle into the air if the ransom was 
not paid. The miserable citizens managed to raise the amount, 
and the Buccaneers loaded their vessels with pillage and vic- 
tuals, and prepared to depart. 

Morgan also carried away the best guns of the castles, nailing 
the rest which he could not take with him. During the fifteen 
days the Buccaneers held Porto Bello, a number had died from 
excesses and from the unhealthiness of the country. 

The President of Panama, filled with admiration that four 
hundred men had been able to take such a great city, with so 
many strong castles, sent a messenger to Captain Morgan, 
"desiring him to send him some small pattern of those arms 
wherewith he had taken with such violence so great a city." 
Morgan gave the man a pistol and a few small bullets of lead, 
to carry back to his master ; with this answer : "He desired 
him to accept that slender pattern of the arms wherewith he had 
taken Porto Bello, and keep them for a twelvemonth; after 

Pour hundred four 



THU SACK OP PANAMA 

which time he promised to come to Panama and fetch them 
away." 

The President soon returned these to Morgan, thanking him 
for the favor of lending him such weapons as he needed not; 
and, as illustrating the polite usages of the times, also sent 
Captain Morgan an emerald set in a ring of gold, with this 
message : "That he desired him not to give himself the labor 
of coming to Panama, as he had done to Porto Bello; for he 
did certify to him, he should not speed so well here as he had 
done there." 

Morgan and his men sailed away to the south coast of Cuba, 
where division of the booty was made. The ready money 
amounted to two hundred and fifty thousand pieces-of-eight ; 
besides silks, linens, and other merchandise. 

The Buccaneers then returned to their rendezvous in Jamaica, 
and gave themselves up to debauchery; "Spending with hugh 
prodigality what others had gained with no small labor and 
toil." 

Morgan's official report of his Porto Bello expedition, found 
in the "State Papers," differs considerably from Exquemelin. 
Morgan relates that Porto Bello was left in as good condition 
as he found it, and that the people had been well treated; 
"several ladies of great quality and other prisoners who were 
offered their liberty to go to the president's camp refused, say- 
ing they were now prisoners to a person of quality, who was 
more tender of their honours than they doubted to find in the 
president's camp; and so voluntarily continued with them." 

Gov. Modyford was somewhat in doubt how the capture of 
Porto Bello might be regarded in England, as Morgan's com- 
mission was only to war against ships. Nevertheless the gov- 
ernor gave Morgan another commission shortly afterwards. 

Not long after the loot of Porto Bello, the Buccaneers of 
Jamaica determined to go on another venture. Morgan notified 
the commanders to meet at Isla de la Vaca (Isle a Vache) on 
the south side of Haiti. While there, he increased his unpopu- 
larity with the French by forcibly seizing a large ship belonging 
to some French flibustiers who would not join him. This 
treacherous act was soon followed by retribution. 

Having decided at a council to lie in wait for the Spanish 
flota at the island of Savona, the English proceeded to fire off 
guns, and drink many healths for joy of their new enterprise. 
While most of the men were drunk, Morgan's great thirty-six 

Four hundred five 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

gun ship, the frigate Oxford, was blown up into the air, with 
the lives of three hundred and fifty Englishmen, and the French 
prisoners that were in the hold. There escaped only about 
thirty men, including Morgan, who were in the cabin at some 
distance from the force of the explosion. The English blamed 
the French for this disaster, and sent the French ship, the Cour 
Volant, and the remainder of her crew to Jamaica, where their 
vessel was confiscated and the men threatened with hanging. 

After mourning eight days for the loss of the ship and men, 
Morgan commanded the bodies floating on the sea to be 
searched for valuables, and the gold rings to be cut off their 
fingers. 

Later, Morgan mustered eight small vessels and five hundred 
men at Savona. By the advice of one of his captains, a 
Frenchman who had been with Lolonnois and Michel le Basque, 
Morgan sailed for Maracaibo. 

The Buccaneers entered the gulf of Maracaibo by night, so 
as not to be seen from the Vigilias, or watch tower. The next 
morning, Morgan found himself under the guns of the fort, 
which opened fire on him. 

"The dispute continued very hot on both sides, being man- 
aged with huge courage and valour from morning till dark 
night." During the night the Spaniards vacated the fort, and 
the next day the Buccaneers passed up to the city of Maracaibo 
in small boats. The principal inhabitants had departed with 
their riches, but such as remained were subjected to inhuman 
cruelties to make them disclose the hiding place of valuables. 

After three weeks of rioting, Morgan and his men proceeded 
up the lake and took Gibraltar, just as Lolonnois had done two 
years before. Five more weeks of pillage and murder at this 
place ; and then Morgan went back to Maracaibo. 

Here he heard that three Spanish men-of-war, under com- 
mand of Don Alonso del Campo y Espinosa, lay in wait in the 
entrance of the lake, to dispute his exit. May ist, 1669, at 
dawn, Morgan attacked the Spanish fleet, and by means of a 
brulot, or fire-ship, which one of the Buccaneers had prepared, 
he was able to destroy two of them and capture the third. 
Most of the Spaniards escaped to the castle on the shore. 

Morgan again returned to Maracaibo, collected a ransom, 
divided two hundred and fifty thousand pieces-of-eignt among 
his men, besides merchandise and slaves, and prepared to leave. 

By a clever stratagem, he was allowed to drift out the lake 
at night on an ebbing tide, without sails, and thus pass the castle 

Pour hundred sir 



THE SACK OP PANAMA 

commanding the entrance. The Buccaneers encountered a 
great tempest at sea, but finally all arrived safely at their head- 
quarters in Port Royal. 

Another party, under Captain Hansel, about the same time, 
returned empty handed from an attempt on the town of 
Cumana. Morgan's men ceased not to mock and jeer them 
for their ill success, saying: "Let us see what money you 
brought from Comana, and if it be as good silver as that which 
we bring from Maracaibo." 

It was not long before the Buccaneers were again clamoring 
for another expedition against the Spaniards. The men had 
spent their money, and many were in debt to the rum-sellers 
and merchants of Port Royal. Rumors had reached the West 
Indies of an impending treaty of peace between Great Britain 
and Spain, and the brotherhood were anxious to engage in some 
great undertaking before it went into effect. The fame of 
Morgan was now so well established that they importuned 
him to lead them. "He undertook therefore to equip a new 
fleet of ships ; for which purpose he assigned the south side of 
the Isle of Tortuga, as a place of rendezvous. With this reso- 
lution, he wrote divers letters to all the ancient and expert 
Pirates there inhabiting, as also to the Governor of the said isle, 
and to the planters and hunters of Hispaniola, giving them to 
understand his intentions, and desiring their appearance at the 
said place, in case they intended to go with him. All these 
people had no sooner understood his designs than they flocked 
to the place assigned in high numbers, with ships, canoes, and 
boats, being desirous to obey his commands. Many, who had 
not the convenience of coming to him by sea, traversed the 
woods of Hispaniola, and with no small difficulties arrived 
there by land. Thus all were present at the place assigned, and 
in readiness, against the 24th day of October, 1670," (Ex- 
quemelin). 

Morgan sailed, August 14th, 1670, from Port Royal for Port 
Corillon [Couillon] in the island of Vache, where he held 
council with his leaders. 

A lot of Buccaneers were set to work on Hispaniola, killing 
cattle and curing the meat; another party, comprising four or 
five ships, under command of Captain Bradley (Sharp says 
vice-admiral Collyer) was sent to the Rio Hacha to loot the 
village of La Rancheria, a place famous for its abundance of 

Pour hundred seven 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

corn; while the remainder cleaned the ships and fitted them 
for sea. 

The hunters soon had an abundance of dried beef, and in five 
weeks Bradley returned with four thousand bushels of maize 
as ransom for Rancheria ; a good ship from Cartagena already- 
laden with maize; and other booty and prisoners. Morgan 
distributed the provisions among his crews, inspected the ships, 
and sailed for Cape Tihuron, the last place of rendezvous. 
Here he was joined by some more ships from Jamaica, "So 
that now the whole fleet consisted of thirty-seven ships, wherein 
were two thousand fighting men, besides mariners and boys ; the 
Admiral hereof was mounted with twenty-two great guns, and 
six small ones, of brass; the rest carried some twenty, some 
sixteen, some eighteen, and the smallest vessel at least four; 
besides which they had great quantity of ammunition and fire- 
balls, with other inventions of powder." 

Morgan's present commission gave him free hand against 
Spain, and further stated that "as there is no other pay for the 
encouragement of the fleet, they shall have all the goods and 
merchandise that shall be gotten in this expedition, to be 
divided amongst them according to their rules." Pursuant to 
his authority as admiral, Morgan then issued sub-commissions 
to his vice-admiral and captains. 

On the second of December, the thirty-seven captains met 
and drew up articles of agreement for the division of the 
spoils. Morgan should receive one-hundredth of the whole; 
every captain was to have the shares of eight men for the 
expenses of his ship, besides his own share ; the surgeon should 
have two hundred pieces-of-eight for his chest of medicaments, 
in addition to his ordinary pay ; and the carpenter an extra one 
hundred pesos. Recompenses for the maimed, and rewards for 
bravery, were regulated much higher than usual. 

The council then considered whether to go against Cartagena, 
Panama, or Vera Cruz. The lot fell upon Panama; believed to 
be the richest of the three. Another reason was "that it stands 
most for the good of Jamaica and safety of us all to take 
Panama, the president thereof having granted several com- 
missions against the English." 

The Buccaneers had no knowledge of the routes to Panama, 
so in order to procure guides, they determined to retake the 
island of St. Catharine (Santa Catarina), now used as a penal 
settlement by the Spaniards, trusting to find there banditti and 
outlaws familiar with Panama and its approaches. Flying the 

Four hundred eight 



THB SACK OF PANAMA 

English flag, the fleet sailed from Cape Tiburon (the south- 
western corner of Haiti), the sixteenth day of December, 1670; 
and on the fourth day arrived at St. Catharine, and summoned 
the garrison to surrender. 

The Spaniards had no show against such a large armada, 
but in order to save his face the Governor "desired that Cap- 
tam Morgan would be pleased to use a certain stratagem of 
war, for the better saving of his own credit, and the reputa- 
tion of his ofiicers both abroad and at home." In other words, 
a sham fight was arranged which waged fiercely throughout the 
night, and during which much powder was consumed. The 
fort of St. Jerome, the battery called St. Matthew, and the 
castle of Santa Teresa fell in turn; and soon all of the nine 
fortresses were in the hands of the assailants. Real war was 
then made against the poultry and cattle by the hungry Bucca- 
neers. 

The population of the island, male and female, numbered, in 
all, four hundred and fifty souls, including one hundred and 
ninety soldiers. Among the felons were two Indians and a 
mulatto from Panama. The Indians, aware that their own 
people would probably sufifer, feigned ignorance of the road to 
Panama, but the negro betrayed them. After one had been 
broken on the rack until he died, the other Indian consented 
to guide the buccaneers. 

Morgan decided to approach Panama by the Chagres river 
route, a selection which required the subjugation of the castle 
guarding the mouth of the river. He must have considered the 
use of artillery essential in subduing Panama, and that the 
control of the Chagres was necessary in order to transport it as 
far as possible by water; otherwise Morgan would not have 
selected the most difficult way of getting to Panama at this 
time of the year. As we shall see later, when he went up the 
river he had "five boats with artillery," which he was forced 
to leave behind at the end of the second day. The facility with 
which Francis Drake reached Cruces, and even within sight of 
Panama, by land in 1573, seems to have been entirely forgotten. 
Had the Buccaneers taken the Camino Real, back of Porto 
Bello, they would have avoided the heavy losses at San Lorenzo, 
and the starvation trip up the Chagres ; and could have reached 
Panama in three or four days in comfort. The dry season 
had begun, and the Royal Road was easy footing for such 
amphibious creatures as the Buccaneers. Morgan sent Colonel 
Joseph Bradley, a famous privateer familiar with those coasts. 

Four hundred nine 



HENRY MORGAN AND 

to take the castle of Chagre (San Lorenzo) ; while he himself 
remained at St. Catherine, lest the Spanish should suspect his 
design on Panama. 

Bradley (called Brodely, by Exquemelin), departed from St. 
Catherine with four ships and a boat, and a force of four hun- 
dred inen, and in three days arrived off the mouth of the 
Chagres. "They came to an anchor in a small port, at the dis- 
tance of a league more or less from the castle. The next morn- 
ing very early they went on shore, and marched through the 
woods, to attack the castle on that side. This march continued 
until two o'clock in the afternoon, before they could reach the 
castle, by reason of the difficulties of the way, and its mire and 
dirt." ' 

Exquemelin, the Buccaneer historian, who probably partici- 
pated in the assault, thus describes the castle of San Lorenzo 
(St. Lawrence) : 

"This castle is built upon a high mountain, at the entry 
of the river, and surrounded on all sides with 
strong palisades or wooden walls ; being very 
well terrepleined, and filled with earth ; which ren- 
ders them as secure as the best walls made of stone or 
brick. The top of this mountain is in a manner divided 
into two parts, between which lies a ditch of the depth of 
thirty foot. The castle itself has but one entry, and that 
by a drawbridge which passes over the ditch aforemen- 
tioned. On the land side it has four bastions, that of the 
sea containing only two more. That part thereof which 
looks towards the South is totally inaccessible and im- 
possible to be climbed, through the infinite asperity of 
the mountain. 

The North side is surrounded by the river, which here- 
abouts runs very broad. At the foot of the said castle, 
or rather mountain, is seated a strong fort, with eight 
great guns, which commands and impedes the entry of 
the river. Not much lower are to be seen two 
other batteries, whereof each hath six pieces of cannon, 

' As San Lorenzo is on the east bank of the Chagres river, and as the 
Buccaneers reached the fort altogether by land, it follows that they must 
have approached from the eastward. Their long march seems to indi- 
cate that they landed at a considerable distance from the castle, as on 
the western playa of Puerto de Naos, but an old map shows that the 
Buccaneers disembarked by Punta Brujas, within Little Orange Key. 



Four hundred ten 



THB SACK OP PANAMA 

to defend likewise the mouth of the said river. At one 
side of the castle are built two great store-houses, in 
which are deposited all sorts of warlike ammunition and 
merchandize, which are brought thither from the inner 
parts of the country. Near these houses is a high pair of 
stairs, hewed out of the rock, which serves to mount to 
the top of the castle. On the West side of the said 
fortress lies a small port, which is not above seven or 
eight fathom deep, being very fit for small vessels and 
of very good anchorage. Besides this, there lies before 
the castle, at the entry of the river, a great rock, scarce 
to be perceived above water, unless at low tide." 

Their guides served them exactly, bringing them out into 
an open space so close to the castle that many of the Bucca- 
neers were killed by the first fire of the guns. This brisk 
defence from a seeming impregnable position much perplexed 
the Pirates in their minds, and caused them to fear the success 
of their enterprise. The Buccaneers tried to take the place by 
assault, and advanced with swords in one hand and fire-balls in 
the other. The Spaniards repulsed them bravely, crying withal : 

"Come on, ye English dogs, enemies to God and our 
King; let your other companions that are behind come 
on too ; ye shall not go to Panama this bout." 

Failing to climb up the walls, the besiegers were forced to 
retreat. Resting until night, they renewed the attack, and were 
almost in despair, when an accident gave them the opportunity 
for victory. 

"One of the Pirates was wounded with an arrow in 
his back, which pierced his body to the other side. This 
instantly he pulled out with great valour at the side of 
his breast ; then taking a little cotton that he had about 
him, he wound it about the said arrow, and putting it 
into his musket, he shot it back into the castle. But the 
cotton being kindled by the powder, occasioned two or 
three houses that were within the castle, being thatched 
with palm-leaves, to take fire, which the Spaniards per- 
ceived not so soon as was necessary. For this fire meet- 
ing with a parcel of powder, blew it up, and thereby 
caused great ruin, and no less consternation to the 
Spaniards, who were not able to account for this acci- 
dent, not having seen the beginning thereof." 

Four hundred eleven 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

Cliffs protected the castle on the north, south, and west. The 
only way it could be approached was by the hill on the east 
side. At the crest of the hill was the ditch, thirty feet deep, 
crossed by a drawbridge, the only entry to the castle. Back of 
the ditch was the wall of earth held up by wooden palisades. 
When the latter were consumed, the dry earth dropped into the 
ditch, filling it more or less, and allowing the Buccaneers to pass 
over. At the same time the interior of the castle became 
exposed to the fire of the enemy. The valiant Governor caused 
his artillery to be transported to the breaches, and made his 
men stand to their posts. 

The Buccaneers would creep up as near as they could, and 
shoot the Spaniards they perceived in the glare of the burning 
buildings. When day was come, they could see those within 
the castle better. About noon, the Buccaneers charged, and 
gained a breach held by the Governor and twenty-five men, who 
defended themselves in the most desperate manner with muskets, 
pikes, stones, and swords. After this, the rest was easy. The 
Governor, Don Pedro de Lisardo, retreated to the corps du 
garde, before which were placed two pieces of cannon. Refus- 
ing to ask quarter, he was killed by a musket shot which pierced 
his skull. Many of the remaining Spaniards cast themselves 
from the castle into the sea, or to the bottom of the cliff (few 
or none surviving the fall), rather than ask any quarter for 
their lives. 

The President of Panama had long been aware of the coming 
of the Buccaneers, and had reinforced the regular garrison of 
one hundred and fifty men with one hundred and sixty-four 
more. This made a total of three hundred and fourteen regular 
troops, besides a lot of Indian bowmen. It is seen that the 
defenders were nearly as numerous as the Buccaneers. Of this 
number, only thirty remained alive, whereof scarce ten were not 
v/ounded. Not one officer survived. Consider, then, the daring 
and desperation necessary to overcome such valorous resistance 
in an almost impregnable position. 

Of the Buccaneer force, of not over four hundred men, more 
than one hundred were killed, and the wounded exceeded 
seventy. Colonel Bradley lost both legs by a round shot, which 
caused his death within ten days, to the great grief of all. The 
church of the castle was turned into a hospital, where also they 

Four hundred twelve 



THB SACK OP PANAMA 

shut up the women. The Buccaneers made the surviving Span- 
iards cast their own dead from the cliffs, and afterwards to 
bury them. 

From considerable reading of Buccaneer history, and from 
personal knowledge of many of the places taken by them, I am 
of the opinion that the capture of San Lorenzo by Colonel 
Bradley was the bravest of their achievements ; and, of course, 
was an indispensable precedent to reaching Panama by the 
river route. 

From Chagre, word was sent to Morgan that the castle had 
fallen. He dismantled all the forts on St. Catherine except St. 
Teresa, and burnt all the houses. Morgan collected all the 
maize, cassava, and other provisions that he could, and putting 
the prisoners aboard his ships, sailed for the Chagres river, 
where he arrived in the space of eight days. 

"Here the joy of the whole fleet was so great, when 
they spied the English colours upon the castle that they 
minded not their way into the river, which occasioned 
them to lose four of their ships at the entry thereof, that 
wherein Captain Morgan went, being one of the four. 
Yet their fortune was so good as to be able to save all 
the men and goods that were in the said vessels. Yea, 
the ships likewise had been preserved, if a strong north- 
erly wind had not risen on that occasion, which cast the 
ships upon the rock above-mentioned, that lies at the 
entry of the said river." 

_ The commander-in-chief entered the castle amid the acclama- 
tions of the Buccaneers. He set the prisoners to work building 
new palisades, and gathered boats for the journey up the 
river. 

When Morgan was in Porto Bello, and made his boast to call 
on the President of Panama within a year, it is very unlikely 
that he had any intentions at that time of such an undertaking. 
Had he cherished such a plan, it would have been the part of 
wisdom, and more in accord with his usual custom, to have 
kept it quiet. Nevertheless, the success of the Buccaneers at 
Porto Bello and other places ashore, had alarmed the people 
of Panama, and preparations had been made to repel an inva- 
sion. That the President of Panama, Don Juan Perez de 
Guzman, had strengthened his defenses, was shown by con- 

Pour hundred thirteen^ 



HENRY MORGAN AND 

fessions of Spanish prisoners, and actual commissions signed 
by him found in captured vessels. 

The raids of Drake and Oxenham had not been forgotten 
by the Spaniards, and the increasing aggressions of other 
European nations kept them in a constant state of alarm. 
Indeed, there were a number of times when the Buccaneers 
could have seized and held the Isthmus, or other parts of 
Spanish America, had they had any desire for permanent pos- 
session and orderly government. 

Morgan learned from the prisoners taken at San Lorenzo 
that the President of Panama had received notice three weeks 
previously from Cartagena, and also by a deserter from the 
Buccaneers while at the Rio Hacha, of his designs on Panama. 
They also told him that ambuscades had been placed along the 
Chagres, and that the Spaniards awaited the Buccaneers with a 
force of three thousand six hundred men, in the open plain in 
front of Panama. This was so well known that the Buccaneers 
were repeatedly greeted, by both Spaniards and Indians, with 
the cry : A la Savanna ! 

The President states in a letter, given in Sharp's Voyages, 
that he had sent two hundred additional men to Puerto Velo 
(Porto Bello), and one hundred and fifty to reinforce Chagre 
(San Lorenzo) ; and had placed five hundred more in ambus- 
cades along the Chagres, under the command of Don Fran- 
cisco Saludo. He further states that he held consultations with 
his officers, and was assured that the castle and forts on the 
river were impregnable. 

Among the Spanish boats found at Chagre were four little 
ships, a lot of canoes, and some vessels called chatten, (chata — 
a flat-bottomed boat) which were used for transporting mer- 
chandise up and down the river, as also for going to Porto 
Bello and Nicaragua. These latter vessels were commonly 
mounted with two great guns of iron, and four small ones 
of brass. 

Leaving Captain Norman with five hundred men to garrison 
San Lorenzo, and one hundred and fifty more to remain with 
his fleet; Morgan started up the Chagres river, January 9th, 
1 67 1, with fourteen hundred men in seven ships and thirty-six 
boats, on his way to Panama. According to Exquemelin, who 
was not always accurate in his dates,' he departed on January 

^ It is probable that this conflict in dates may be explained by the 
difiference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, which at this 
time amounted to about ten days. 

Four hundred fourteen 



THB SACK OF PANAMA 

i8th, at the head of twelve hundred men, in "five boats with 
artillery and thirty-two canoes." Morgan carried but few 
provisions, being in good hopes he should provide himself 
from the Spaniards. 

In my account of the trip up the Chagres I shall give the 
names of places, and distances traveled, as narrated by Exque- 
melin. Those familiar with the river will be able to locate the 
stops, and make corrections for distance. 

First day — 

The first day they journeyed six leagues, and came to a place 
called De los Bracos [at the mouth of the Trinidad] . The men 
left their cramped quarters on the boats, and went ashore to 
sleep for a few hours. After which, they sought something 
to eat among the neighboring plantations, but found nothing, 
as the Spaniards had fled and carried with them all their provi- 
sions. Many of the Buccaneers had to be content with a pipe of 
tobacco for refreshment. 

Second day — 

They resumed their journey very early in the morning, and 
about evening arrived at a place called Cruz De Juan Gallego. 
"Here they were compelled to leave their boats and canoes, by 
reason the river was very dry for want of rain, and the many 
obstacles of trees that were fallen into it." 

Third day — 

All went ashore in the morning except one hundred and sixty 
men left to defend the boats and hold them as a refuge in case 
of necessity. These men had strict orders, under great penal- 
ties, that no one should leave the boats for fear of being cut oflf 
by the Spaniards that might chance to lie thereabouts in the 
neighboring woods, which appeared so thick as to seem almost 
impenetrable. The Buccaneers found marching so dirty and 
irksome that they re-embarked in the canoes. By making two 
trips, Morgan was able to get his column up the river as far as 
Cedro Bueno by evening. They were now reduced to such 
extremity of hunger that they were infinitely desirous to meet 
some Spaniards, that they might roast or boil them to satisfy 
their famine. 

Fourth day — 

Most of the party traveled by land, being led by one of the 
guides. The rest went by water, being conducted by another 
guide, who always went ahead to discover ambuscades. The 
Spaniards, of course, had spies along the river, who gave notice 
of the advance of the Buccaneers. 

Pour hundred fifteen 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

About noon, when near a post called Torna Cavallos [oppo- 
site Bujio de Soldado], the guide of the canoes gave warning 
of an ambush ahead. Instead of being alarmed, the Bucca- 
neers were filled with joy -at the thought of finding something 
to eat. But they found the place abandoned, and judged that 
about five hundred Spaniards had been there. Crumbs of bread 
strewn about tantalized their appetites, so that they fell upon 
some leathern bags and devoured them, to quell the ferment of 
their stomachs. 

After feasting on these pieces of leather they marched 
farther on, till about night they came to another post, called 
Torna Munni. Here they found another ambuscade, also 
barren of provisions. 

"Here again he was happy, that had reserved since 
noon any small piece of leather whereof to make his 
supper, drinking after it a good draught of water for his 
greatest comfort. Some persons, who never were out 
of their mothers' kitchens, may ask how these Pirates 
could eat, swallow and digest those pieces of leather, so 
hard and dry. To whom I only answer: That could 
they once experiment what hunger, or rather famine, is, 
they would certainly find the manner, by their own neces- 
sity, as the Pirates did. For these first took the leather, 
and sliced it in pieces. Then did they beat it between 
two stones, and rub it, often dipping it in the water of 
the river to render it by these means supple and tender. 
Lastly, they scraped off the hair, and roasted or broiled 
it upon the fire. And being thus cooked they cut it into 
small morsels, and eat it, helping it down with frequent 
gulps of water, which by good fortune they had near 
at hand." 

Fifth day— 

About noon on the fifth day the Buccaneers had gotten as 
far as Barbacoa, the present Barbacoas, where the Panama 
Railroad crosses the Chagres river, and a midway point across 
the Isthmus. Here were signs of another ambuscade, but not a 
particle to eat. Several plantations in the neighborhood were 
narrowly searched, but not an animal or any food found. 
After searching up and down the river they found a grotto, 
lately hewn out of a rock, 



Four hundred sixteen 



THB SACK OF PANAMA 

"in which they found two sacks of meal, wheat and like 
things, with two great jars of wine, and certain fruits 
called Platanos." 

Morgan, wisely, distributed this food among those who were 
in the greatest need. They then advanced again with greater 
courage, and late at night arrived at a deserted plantation, 
where they rested until morning. 

Sixth day — 

They continued their progress, partly in canoes, and partly by 
land through the woods ; but constrained to rest frequently on 
account of the ruggedness of the way and their great weakness. 
The men were in such extremity of hunger that they ate the 
leaves of trees, grass, and green herbs. 

"This day, at noon, they arrived at a plantation, where 
they found a barn full of maize. Immediately they beat 
down the doors, and fell to eating of it dry, as much as 
they could devour. Afterwards they distributed great 
quantity, giving to every man a good allowance thereof." 

About an hour after resuming their journey, they ran into 
an ambuscade of Indians, who retreated before them, and were 
routed by the Forlorn (the advance guard) under Captain 
Thomas Rogers. Some of the Buccaneers crossed the river and 
pursued a body of about one hundred on the other side, hoping 
to catch a few of them. The nimble Indians easily avoided the 
Buccaneers, and killed two or three of them with their arrows ; 
at the same time taunting them with cries of Ha! perros, a la 
savana, a la savana. Ha! ye dogs, go to the plain, go to the 
plain. 

The Buccaneers had now traveled as far on che northern or 
east bank of the river as it was necessary to go, so went into 
camp for the night at a post called Santa Cruz. Many mur- 
mured against Captain Morgan for his conduct of the enter- 
prise, and were desirous to return home, but a guide comforted 
them, saying : It would not he long before they met with peo- 
ple, from whom they should reap some considerable advantage. 

Seventh day — 

The next morning the Buccaneers cleaned their arms, and 
each man discharged his pistol or musket, without bullet, to 
test his firelock. They then crossed the Chagres in their 
canoes, and continued their march, in an easterly direction, on 
the south side of the river. Smoke was seen ahead, and they 

Pour hundred seventeen 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

hurried forward, and at noon arrived all sweating and panting 
at the village of Cms, the modern Cruces. The smoke ascend- 
ing from each house led them to hope for good cheer within, 
but the Spaniards, as usual, had taken their departure and left 
no eatables behind. Before leaving, each man had set fire to his 
own house, excepting only the store-houses and stables belong- 
ing to the King. 

The Buccaneers found a few cats and dogs, which they imme- 
diately killed and devoured; and in the King's stable were 
fifteen or sixteen jars of Peru wine, and a leather sack full of 
bread. In their half starved condition, the wine made the men 
sick, and caused them to think it was poisoned, which created 
much consternation for a time. 

Morgan concealed one of his canoes and sent the rest back to 
where he had left his boats, not caring to weaken his force 
by leaving enough men at Cruces to defend them. 

Contrary to orders, a party of English left the village in 
search of food, but were driven back by Spaniards and Indians, 
who captured one of them. 

By reason of the sickness of his men, Morgan was compelled 
to remain at Cruces until the next morning. 

"This village is situated in the latitude of nine degrees 
and two minutes, North, being distant from the river of 
Chagre [mouth of the Chagres] twenty-six Spanish 
leagues, and eight from Panama." 

Eighth day — 

At Cruces, Morgan left the river and started south towards 
the city of Old Panama. He sent out an advance guard of 
two hundred men to give warning of the enemy, 

Exquemelin complains of the road being so narrow that only 
ten or twelve men could march in a file ; but at the present time 
on the Isthmus this would be considered a very fine highway. 
As a matter of fact, that old Camino Real was the best roadway 
the Isthmus ever had. 

After marching ten hours, and reaching a spot called Que- 
brada Ohscura, they suddenly received a flight of three or four 
thousand arrows from unseen foes. 

"The place whence it was presumed they were shot 
was a high rocky mountain, excavated from one side to 
the other, wherein was a grotto that went through it. 

Four hundred eighteen 



THB SACK OF PANAMA 

only capable of admitting one horse, or other beast 
laded." 

The firing ceased, and the Buccaneers advanced and entered 
a wood, when they saw some Indians fleeing. One band of 
Indians, however, stood their ground, and fought with huge 
courage till their chief fell mortally wounded. The Bucca- 
neers had eight men killed, and ten wounded. Shortly after, 
while passing through a savana, they perceived a party of 
Indians on top of a mountain. Fifty of the most active among 
the Buccaneers tried to catch some of them, but the Indians 
vanished, only to reappear in another place, hallooing to the 
English : A la savana, a la savana corundos, perros Ingleses! 
A little further on, Morgan avoided an ambuscade in a wood, 
and saw a body of Spaniards and Indians on a mountain, but 
they soon retired and were seen no more. About night there 
fell a great rain. The Indians had burned the houses there- 
abouts, and driven away the cattle, so there was neither shelter 
nor food for the invaders. Notwithstanding, after diligent 
search, they found a few huts in which a few men from each 
company kept dry the arms of the remainder of the army. It 
rained all that night; and those tired, famished men suffered 
much hardship. 

The Spaniards seen this day were the first encountered by 
the Buccaneers since leaving San Lorenzo. Don Francisco 
Saludo, with headquarters at Barbacoa, was in command of five 
hundred men to defend the passage of the Chagres. As the 
Buccaneers came up the river, Luis de Castillo, Captain of 
the Mulattos, retired from his post at Barro Colorado [oppo- 
site Tabernilla] and fell back on his chief at Barbacoa; and the 
latter very promptly retreated to Cruces. Removing and 
destroying supplies, and burning houses were wise measures, 
but not sufficient, without active opposition, to hold back the 
Buccaneers. 

The only resistance offered was by the Indians. Had the 
Spaniards exhibited the same spirit, and continually harrassed 
the Buccaneers, those weakened and discouraged men never 
would have reached Panama. 

Ninth day — 

• ^* ^^^ ^l^^^ °^ ^^y' "^^'"^S the ninth of this tedious 
journey, Morgan continued his march. "For the clouds 
then hanging as yet over their heads were much more favor- 
able to them than the scorching rays of the sun, by reason the 

Four hundred nineteen 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

way was now more difficult and laborious than all the pre- 
ceding," 

In about two hours they saw a body of twenty Spaniards, 
but could not succeed in capturing any of them. They then 
came, towards noon, to a high mountain, from the top of which 
they saw the South Sea, which filled them with joy. This hill 
has ever since been known as "Bl Cerro de los Bucaneros." 
(The Hill of the Buccaneers). 

They also descried a ship and six boats sailing from the 
direction of Panama toward Tovaga and Tovagilla [Taboga 
and Tabogilla] . Descending this hill, their hungry eyes perceived 
a little valley filled with cattle. "Here while some were em- 
ployed in killing and flaying cows, horses, bulls, and chiefly 
asses, of which there was greatest number, others busied them- 
selves in kindling of fires and getting wood wherewith to roast 
them. Thus cutting the flesh of these animals into pieces, or 
gobbets, they threw them into the fire, and half carbonadoed 
or roasted, they devoured them with incredible haste and appe- 
tite. For such was their hunger that they more resembled 
cannibals than Europeans at this banquet, the blood many times 
running down from their beards to the middle of their bodies." 
This was the first square meal since leaving San Lorenzo. It 
was a stupid blunder on the part of the Spaniards to permit 
this stock to range within reach of the Buccaneers, so that they 
could strengthen their weakened bodies and revive their cour- 
age. During the meal, Morgan sounded a false alarm, fearing 
his men might be surprised, which proved to be a wise pre- 
caution. After satisfying their hunger, the Buccaneers resumed 
their march. Morgan was anxious to take some prisoners, that 
he might extract from them, by torture if necessary, the con- 
dition and forces of Panama. 

In the evening they discovered a troop of two hundred 
Spaniards, and soon after they had their first sight of the 
highest steeple of the city. The Buccaneers leaped and yelled 
for joy, and sounded their trumpets and drums. In great content 
they went into camp, waiting in impatience for the morning to 
come to attack the city. About fifty horsemen, preceded by a 
sweet sounding trumpeter, issued from the city, and came 
almost within musket-shot of the Buccaneers, and shouted 
" Perros! Nos Veremos." (Dogs! we will see you again). 
A few of the horsemen hovered about them as scouts, while the 
two hundred previously seen, re-appeared, and placed them- 
selves so as to cut off retreat. Panama began shooting with 

Pour hundred twenty 



THE SACK OP PANAMA 

her biggest guns, and kept up a useless firing all during the 
night. The Buccaneers placed sentries about their camp, made 
a hearty supper off the meat which they had reserved since 
noon, and laid themselves down to sleep upon the grass with 
great repose. 

Tenth day — The Capture of Panama, comprising the Battle 
of the Savana, and the Assault on the City. 

January i8th, 1671 (January 27th, according to Exqueme- 
lin), being the tenth day after leaving San Lorenzo, the Buc- 
caneers fought the battle of Old Panama, and captured the city. 
The battle began early in the morning, and was executed in 
two stages; the first, being the destruction of the Spanish 
cavalry and rout of the wild cattle on the Savana, which lasted 
two hours ; and the second stage, which comprised the assault 
and capture of the city, lasting three hours; and terminating 
at noon ; or at three o'clock, as some say. 

When the Governor (then called the President) of Panama 
heard of the continued advance of the Buccaneers, and retreat 
of Saludo, he left his sick bed and took the field in person. He 
writes — "In this conjunction having had the misfortune to 
have been lately Blooded three times for an Erysipelas I had 
in my right Leg, I was forced to rise out of my Bed and march 
to Guiabel [on the Cruces road] with the rest of the People, 
which I had raised in Panama." He soon returned to Panama 
with all his forces, and prepared to repel the Buccaneers. "But 
what was Don Juan Perez de Guzman doing while Morgan 
was on his way up the Chagre, after capturing the high- 
m.ounted castle of San Lornezo? Masses were being said 
daily for the success of the Spanish Arms. The images of 
our lady of pure and immaculate conception w ere being carried 
in general procession, attended by all the religious fraternity 
of the cathedral. Always the most holy sacrament was left 
uncovered and exposed to public view. Oaths were being taken 
with much pious fervor in the presence of the sacred effigies, 
and all the president's relics and jewelry, including a diamond 
ring worth forty thousand pesos, were laid on the altars of the 
holy virgin and of the saints, who held in their special keeping 
the welfare of Panama." (Bancroft). 

Early in the morning, with drums beating and trumpets 
sounding, the Buccaneers advanced in orderly array towards 
the city. They marched under the English flag, and Morgan 
held his commission from the Governor and Council of Jamaica, 

Four hundred twenty-one 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

so their status was that of privateers operating on land, or 
authorized guerrillas. 

By the advice of his guide, Morgan did not follow the main 
road, but took another way that went through the woods. Very 
often the Buccaneers were indebted to the Indians for the suc- 
cess of their enterprises, and this guide was probably that 
Indian who was brought from St. Catherine. This flanking 
movement disarranged the Spanish plan of battle, so that they 
were forced to leave their batteries and ambuscades which 
commanded the Camino Real, and form upon the plain. The 
Governor, therefore, drew up his men in battle array on the 
S a van a in front of the city. 

The Spanish forces consisted of two squadrons of horse, 
amounting to four hundred men; twenty- four companies of 
foot, of one hundred men each ; and "sixty Indians and some 
negroes." Morgan mustered about twelve hundred men for 
the attack. "The Pirates being now upon their march, came to 
the top of a little hill, whence they had a large prospect of the 
city and campaign country underneath." This hill afterwards 
came to be known as "Bl Cerro de Avance" (the Hill of the 
Advance). When they saw the large Spanish force drawn up 
to receive them, they were filled with fear. They knew no 
quarter could be expected, and there were few or none but 
what wished themselves at home. The Spanish army was not 
made up simply of merchants, planters and servants, but con- 
tained, besides, many regular troops; veterans of the wars in 
Flanders, Sicily, and other countries of Europe. 

The Buccaneers moved down the hill in three bodies, the bat- 
talion of houcaniers being in the van. "The next Morning 
being the eighteenth, our Admiral gave out very early his 
Orders, To draw out his Men in Battalia; which was accord- 
ingly performed, and they were drawn up in form of a Tertia. 
The Vanguard, which was led by Lieutenant Colonel Prince, 
and Major John Morris, was in number three hundred Men. The 
main body, containing fix hundred Men, the right Wing thereof 
was led by the Admiral, and the Left by Colonel Edward Col- 
Iyer. The Rereguard, confisting of three hundred Men, was 
commanded by Colonel Bleary Morgan." At the same time 
the Spanish horsemen, commanded by Don Francisco de Haro, 
advanced on prancing steeds (400 gennets, says one writer), 
shouting Viva El Rey [Long Live the King!] The fine marks- 
manship of the cattle-hunters largely determined the success 
of the Buccaneers. The houcaniers, comprising the advance 
battalion of the Buccaneers, dropped on one knee, took deliber- 

Pour hundred twenty-two 



^ c ^ <; 




THE SACK OP PANAMA 

ate aim with their long^ clumsy muskets, and rapidly emptied 
the Spanish saddles. The gallant Don Francisco reformed his 
troop, but fell while leading the charge. All authorities agree 
that the Spanish cavalry behaved splendidly. No doubt, they 
included most of the gentry of the Isthmus, descendants of the 
Conquistadores ; excellent horsemen, and superbly mounted. 

Though the dry season was well advanced, the heavy rain 
of two nights before had made the plain soft under foot and 
full of quags, so that the cavalry could not maneuver and 
wheel as they desired. The Spanish infantry endeavored to 
support their cavalry, but, by chance or design, the Buccaneers 
were so placed that a morass protected them from attack except 
from the front. 

After the horse had been nearly annihilated and repulsed 
by the Buccaneers, the foot came forward, but met such a 
furious reception that they never came to handystrokes. Fail- 
ing likewise with their infantry to overcome the enemy, the 
Spaniards thought to break their ranks and rout the Bucca- 
neers by over-riding them with a lot of wild cattle. From 
either flank, a thousand will bulls in charge of 50 vaqueros, 
Indians, and negroes, were driven toward the Buccaneers, with 
the intent, like the elephants of Pyrrhus, to disorganize the foe. 
Instead of shooting the cattle, Colonel Morgan ordered his men 
to shoot the cowboys ; and the bulls were soon out of control, 
and stampeded in every direction but towards the Buccaneers. 
A few half-crazed bulls, excited by the noise and carnage, were 
attracted by the English colors and charged the standards, 
goring them into shreds. 

The Buccaneers then followed up their advantage, and the 
Spaniards, thoroughly disheartened, threw down their arms and 
fled in every direction. The Governor, Don Juan, seeing the 
left wing under Don Alonso Alcandete giving way, placed him- 
self at the head of the right wing, shouting — according to his 
own story — "Come along Boys, there is no other remedy now 
but to Conquer or Die ; Follow me !" 

He further states that he soon found himself alone, deserted 
by all his troops. A priest of the great church, called Juan de 
Dios, came up and persuaded him it was not like a Christian 
to remain out there all alone and be killed; so he returned to 
the city, giving thanks to the Blessed Virgin who had brought 
him off safe from amidst so many thousand bullets. 

Many of the Spaniards who hid in the woods, and among the 
bushes along the seashore, were captured and killed by the 

Four hundred twenty-three 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

Buccaneers. A few Franciscan friars who remained on the 
battle field to minister to the dying, were brought before Mor- 
gan, who ordered them pistolled. Some Spaniards were held 
as prisoners, including a captain who told Morgan that the city 
had defences, and its streets were barricadoed with 32 
brass guns. 

Morgan reviewed his men, and found his losses in killed and 
wounded very heavy. It was estimated that six hundred Span- 
iards lay dead on the field. The fight had lasted two hours, and 
left the Buccaneers victorious on the plain; but the city yet 
remained to be taken. 

Second Stage — The Buccaneers Take The City. 

After giving his men a short rest, Morgan proceeded to 
attack the city. Instead of being depressed by their losses, the 
Buccaneers were filled with pride that they had overcome such 
a large body of troops, and renewed their oaths to each other 
that they would fight till never a man was left alive. 

Old Panama was the first settlement by white men on the 
Pacific coast of the New World, and one of the largest and 
wealthiest cities of all the Americas. The city was really started 
by Gaspar de Espinosa, in 1517; but two years later, in 1519. 
Governor Pedro Arias de Avila — who stole everything he could 
get hold of — moved over from Antigua on the north coast and 
appropriated the honor of founding Panama. The name of the 
fishing hamlet Panama (meaning "abounding in fish"), which 
preceded it, was retained. The streets were laid out in regular 
form about the Plaza Mayor according to the cardinal points, 
"so that when the sun rises no one can walk in any of the 
streets, because there is no shade whatever ; and this is felt very 
much as the heat is intense; and the sun is so prejudicial to 
health, that if a man is exposed to its rays for a few hours, he 
will be attacked with a fatal illness, and this has happened to 
many." 

Panama Viejo was built on a rectangular point of land, bor- 
dered by low rocky bluffs, which projects into the bay. The 
sea surrounds it on three sides, and at high tide waters a slough 
or morass on the landward side, at the mouth of the Rio Alga- 
roba, to cross which the Spaniards had constructed a causeway 
and stone bridge. The viaduct is yet used by the infrequent 
visitor to the old ruins, and the South Sea still ebbs and flows 
beneath the archway over which the pack trains carried the 

Four hundred twenty-four 



THB SACK OP PANAMA 

wealth of an empire, and across which rushed the Buccaneers 
to sack the city. These structures, with the old cathedral tower 
and foundation ruins covered with jungle, are the only visible 
evidences of former habitation. 

At the time of its destruction, the city comprised about seven 
thousand houses and shacks, and contained in the neighbor- 
hood of thirty thousand inhabitants ; nearly as populous as the 
Panama of today, five miles to the westward. It had a large 
transit trade in the silks, linens, spices and drugs of the East 
Indies ; and received the produce of the west coast from Aca- 
pulco, in Mexico, to Lima, in Peru; and furnished those parts 
with flour, wine, iron, and utensils from Europe. The adjoin- 
ing waters are shallow, and vessels could come in close to the 
city, to load and unload, only during high water. At full moon 
the waves frequently entered the houses in the low part of 
the town. 

The richest commodities were the silver and gold from the 
Peruvian and other mines, and pearls from the islands in the 
gulf of Panama. In its prime, Panama Vie jo was the greatest 
mart for gold and silver in the whole world. The great Cathe- 
dral of San Geronimo* and other churches were adorned with 
massive silver railings and candelabra, golden plate and chal- 
ices, and jewelled vestments. Many private houses were of two 
stories and constructed of cedar or stone. Two hundred resi- 
dences, belonging to the rich officials and merchant princes, 
were of European elegance, finely furnished, with rich carv- 
ings and rare paintings. The wealthy had villas and gardens 
in the savannahs, like the same class of Panamanians of today. 

Most writers, following Exquemelin and Burney, state that 
Panama lay open and accessible to plain fighting, because it did 
not have the defence of walls and regular fortifications. This 
misrepresents and belittles the strength of the city; for on 
account of its protection by the sea, and large population, 
Panama was really a formidable place to capture. 

Since the days of Drake and Cavendish, no foe had menaced 
Spain in the South Sea, and the only probable route for an 
enemy to approach was by the slow and dangerous march 
across the Isthmus, or up the Chagres river. This gave the 
Spaniards plenty of time in which to prepare to repel the 

* San Francisco, according to the letter o£ Governor Guzman. Con- 
fusion has arisen among English writers from translating iglesia mayor 
as necessarily meaning the cathedral church. See note 20, chap. I. 

Pour hundred twenty-five 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

invasion. That the people of Panama failed in this instance 
is to be ascribed to their over-confidence, the incompetence of 
the Governor and other officers, and to too great reliance on 
masses and religious processions. 

Authorities agree that it took three more hours for the Buc- 
caneers to get possession of the city, but differ as to the amount 
of resistance offered by the Spaniards. As the Buccaneers 
advanced, the city opened fire on them with her defenses. 
There appears to have been several batteries, one of which was 
so situated as to command the road over the causeway. Details 
of the fight are wanting. The Buccaneers rushed over the 
bridge and took the gate-house, and fort nearby. Another 
party probably entered the town by the low ground to the 
north. Trenches had been dug across the streets and barri- 
cades constructed, which had to be approached carefully, and 
carried. The batteries had been so placed as to command the 
main approaches, while the musket-men fired from the upper 
windows. 

The last stand was made in the Great Plaza, where the Span- 
iards fired their battery and killed four Buccaneers, and wound- 
ed five more. The Governor caused his chiefest fort to be 
blown up, which was done in such haste that it carried with it 
forty of his best soldiers. 

The Governor in his report, writes : "After this I endeav- 
ored with all my induftry to perfuade the Souldiers to turn and 
face our Enemies, but it was impoffible ; so that nothing hinder- 
ing them, they entered the City, to which the Slaves and 
Owners of the Houf es had put Fire, and being all of Boards 
and Timber, 'twas moft of it quickly burnt, except the Audi- 
encia, the Governor's Houfe, the Convent of the Mercedes, San 
Jofeph, the Suburbs of Malambo, and Pierde Vidas, at which 
they say the Enemy fretted very much for being difappointed 
of their Plunder. And because they had brought with them an 
Englifh Man, whom they called The Prince, with intent there 
to Crown him King of the Terra Firma." 

According to Captain Sharp's narrative, the Buccaneers had 
five killed and ten wounded while entering the city. He gives 
the Spanish loss as four hundred men, which would indicate 
that no quarter was given. The Governor, with most of the 
people who had not already departed, managed to escape from 
the city, but some of the populace still remained. 

Henry Morgan had made good his boast, uttered at Porto 



Pour hundred twenty-six 



THB SACK OP PANAMA 

Bello two years before, to call upon the President of Panama, 
and with small arms take his city. 

The Spaniards did not defend their city with the energy anc 
desperation to be expected of people protecting their liomes. 
Had they fought with half the spirit and bravery exhibited by 
the garrison at San Lorenzo, the Buccaneers might have 
reached the city, but there would have been few left to rejoin 
their companions at Chagre. It seems that the authorities of 
Panama had planned to exterminate the Buccaneers in the 
Sabanas in front of the city. "A la savana" was the taunting 
cry from Chagre to Panama. When this failed, and their 
best troops, the Spanish cavaliers, were nearly annihilated, the 
defenders were thoroughly disheartened. 

The Spaniards first blundered in not harassing the Bucca- 
neers while toiling up the Chagres, and passing through the 
hills between Cruces and Panama ; and again, when they fought 
upon the plain, instead of making a defensive fight from behind 
stone walls and barricades. The Buccaneers had no artillery, a 
fact of which the Spaniards were well aware. Every church, 
and each of the eight convents, the Audiencia, the Royal 
stables where the recuas were kept, the palace of the Genoese, 
and many private houses and places of business were thick- 
walled and barred, and capable of effective defence. I have 
gathered the impression that the Spanish foot was poorly 
armed ; but that was only another reason for not opposing well- 
armed and skillful warriors in the open. 

When the Buccaneers came into complete possession of the 
city, which was not later than three o'clock in the afternoon, 
fires were discovered in a number of places, and by midnight 
most of Panama was consumed. Two churches, and three 
hundred houses in the suburbs, were saved. Spaniards have 
always claimed that Panama was secretly fired by order of 
Morgan. The pirate-chronicler, Exquemelin, and also von 
Archenholtz, confirm this charge. On the other hand, Morgan 
himself, and English writers generally, say the Spaniards burnt 
their city; and English official papers substantiate their asser- 
tions. 

After considerable reading and study of the case, I can find 
no reason why Morgan should burn the city before he had a 
chance to pillage, and hold it a time for ransom, as was the 
custom. Henry Morgan was that rare bird, a thrifty Bucca- 
neer. He knew of the pending treaty between England and 
Spain, saw that piracy was doomed, and determined to make 

Four hundred twenty-seven 



HENRY MORGAN AND 

his fortune, at any hazard, as soon as possible, and get out 
of the business. His men needed the shelter and protection of 
the houses, and the provisions therein, and it is not Hkely that 
Morgan would wantonly destroy a probable source of revenue. 
Had the burning occurred as the Buccaneers departed from 
Panama, and with the present data, everyone would beHeve 
Morgan guilty. As it is, I do not believe that Morgan or his 
men fired Panama. It is just possible that the statement of the 
Governor is true, and that the Spaniards credited the report 
about a young Englishman, and fired their houses with their 
own hands, rather than see an English Prince crowned King of 
Tierra Firme in the Spanish capital of the South Sea. 

My opinion is, that Old Panama was set on fire, in the con- 
fusion of the moment, by Indian and African slaves, both of 
whom held racial and personal reasons for avenging themselves 
upon their Spanish masters. Anyhow, it was not the wish of 
the mass of the Buccaneers to see their loot destroyed before 
they had a chance to plunder, so they assisted the remaining 
citizens in trying to extinguish the fire by blowing up houses 
with gunpowder, and tearing down others. Panama burnt for 
days ; and a month later, when the Buccaneers took their depar- 
ture, the ruins were still smouldering. Some negro slaves are 
reported to have lost their lives during the fire, probably from 
being locked up. When they saw that the city was doomed, 
guards were placed, and the men withdrew to the sabanas and 
rested. At night-fall they re-entered the desolated city, and 
sought lodging in such houses as were not destroyed. The 
wounded were placed in one of the churches which had escaped 
the flames. 

After taking a town, the first instinct of the Buccaneers was 
to get drunk quickly. Many times they lost valuable booty by 
first seeking the wine cellars. At Panama, one of the first acts 
of Morgan was to forbid his men drinking any wine, telling 
them that he had received warning that it had all been poisoned. 
"This dexterous falsehood produced the desired efifect; and 
for the first time the Free-booters were temperate." (von Arch- 
enholtz). This was no needless precaution, as parties of Span- 
iards were still hovering in the Sabanas, and might rally their 
forces at any time, and catch the Buccaneers in a drunken 
stupor. 

When the Buccaneers appeared before Panama, many of the 
citizens placed themselves and valuables aboard vessels in the 
bay, and awaited the result of the battle. The evening the city 

Four hundred twenty-eight 



THE SACK OP PANAMA 

was taken, a bark which had delayed her departure for the 
turn of the tide, fell into the hands of the Buccaneers. Morgan 
placed twenty-five men on her, under command of Captain 
Searles, with orders to cruise about the bay. The next day they 
landed on Taboga, and in the evening captured a party of 
mariners who were getting water for a ship that was lying on 
the other side of the island. His men also found some wine in 
a gentleman's country house, and proceeded to get drunk in 
regulation pirate style. Captain Searles feared to attack the 
Spanish ship with his befuddled crew, so waited till morning. 

The Spanish commander, Don Francisco de Peralta, becom- 
ing alarmed at the prolonged absence of his men, slipped away 
during the night. The next day the Buccaneers had the chagrin 
of learning that the Spanish vessel was the "Trinidad" of four 
hundred tons, carrying bullion for ballast, and having on board 
the old gentlemen and matrons of Panama, with friars and 
nuns, to the number of fifteen hundred; together with their 
most precious valuables, and church ornaments and jewels. 
The Trinidad contained one of the richest cargoes ever floated, 
being comparable in value to the Cacafiiego, Madre de Dios, 
and Santa Anna. Hard luck seems to have followed Captain 
Searles, for a few years later we read of him cutting log-wood 
in the lagoons of Campechy, where he was killed by one of 
his company. 

The Trinidad (Trinity) was an old half-rigged galleon, hav- 
ing no sails but topsails on the mainmast, and deeply laden. 
She was poorly manned, and armed only wnth seven small guns, 
and a dozen muskets. When Morgan heard of this rich prize 
almost within his grasp, he manned four barks and sent them 
out to look for her. They searched about the Gulf of Panama 
for eight days, but heard no more of the treasure-ship. They 
picked up a few small prizes, and returning to Taboga, captured 
a good ship lately come from Payta, containing provisions and 
twenty thousand pieces-of-eight. It is stated that the church- 
plate and jewelled vestments belonging to the great cathedral 
were hidden on Taboga, and that to this day their hiding place 
remains undiscovered. 

At the same time, Morgan sent a convoy of one hundred and 
fifty men back to Chagre with the news of his victory; and 
parties, of two hundred each, to scour the savannahs and hills 
for twenty leagues around, to look for loot and bring in prison- 
ers of both sexes. These detachments divided and weakened 

Fonr hunnred twenty-nine 



HENRY MORGAN AND 

his forces, and gave the Spaniards another opportunity to take 
the Buccaneers at a disadvantage, and whip them piecemeal. 

As the ashes of Panama cooled, the Buccaneers searched the 
ruins for gold and silver. They also found money and jewelry 
hidden in the wells and cisterns. Two hundred prisoners, of 
both sexes, were subjected to fiendish and exquisite tortures to 
make them disclose the hiding place of their own or their 
neighbors' valuables. Several warehouses well stocked with all 
sorts of goods escaped the conflagration. One poor wretch, a 
simpleton, servant to a wealthy gentleman, took advantage of 
the occasion to discard his rags and don his master's finery. 
The Buccaneers found him strutting around with a silver key 
suspended from his belt. They asked where his wealth was 
concealed, and refused to believe him when he showed them his 
ragged clothes. They put him upon the rack, wherewith they 
disjointed his arms, twisted a cord about his head till his eyes 
bulged out, singed his beard, and cut ofif his nose and ears; 
but still no confession. When so nearly dead that he could no 
longer lament his misery, a slave was ordered to run him 
through with a lance. 

Beautiful woman has ever adorned, if she did not instigate, 
most of the notable events in the history of the world. The 
woman who graces the tragedy of Old Panama loses nothing 
by comparison with other famous females. "Her years were 
but few, and her beauty so great as peradventure I may doubt 
whether in all Europe any could be found to surpass her per- 
fections either of comliness or honesty." Her name, I regret 
to state, has been lost, but we know that she was a lady of 
quality, the young wife of a wealthy merchant then on a busi- 
ness trip to Peru. She was taken prisoner on Taboga, whither 
she had fled from Panama, and was brought before Morgan, 
who fixed her ransom and exemption from indignity at thirty 
thousand pesos. Her charms inflamed the passion of the Buc- 
caneer commander, and he sought to win her favor by kindness 
and gentle treatment. He housed her in the best quarters 
remaining unburnt, assigned slave girls in attendance, and show- 
ered her with pearls and jewelry filched from her own country- 
women. She had heard much of the fierceness and cruelty of 
the pirates, but when she found herself treated well, and heard 
frequent mention of the name of God and of Jesus Christ by 
the cursing Buccaneers, she began to have better thoughts of 
them. Morgan soon undeceived her by disclosing his design ; 
when she replied: "Sir, my life is in your hands; but as to 

Four hundred thirty 



THB SACK OP PANAMA 

my body, in relation to that which you wQuld persuade me to, 
my soul shall sooner be separated from it, through the violence 
of your arms, than I shall condescend to your request." Mor- 
gan then had her stripped of her finery and confined in a dark 
cellar, and fed upon miserable fare. Tiring of her chastity, he 
attempted force; but faced a desperate woman who preferred 
death to ravishment. "Stop," she cried, "Thinkest thou then 
that thou canst ravish my honor from me, as thou hast wrested 
from me my fortune and my liberty? Be assured that I can 
die, and be revenged." Saying which, she drew a poigniard 
from beneath her gown, and would have plunged it into his 
heart, had he not avoided the blow. Her treatment by Morgan, 
who was never popular, excited the remonstrance of his men; 
and it was probably only the fear of them which preserved the 
woman inviolate. 

In contrast to this, we have the story of a woman of weak 
understanding, who had been told that Pirates were not like 
ordinary men,® but were monstrous beasts, "who did neither 
invoke the blessed Trinity, nor believe in Jesus Christ." After 
an experience with them, she exclaimed: "Oh Holy Mary! 
These thieves be just like us Spaniards in every respect." There 
is no doubt but that the women were brutally assaulted; but 
this again is denied by some English writers, who claim that no 
woman was forced against her will. 

In a couple of weeks the convoy returned from Chagre, leav- 
ing their canoes at Venta Cruz. They brought the pleasing 
news that the garrison of San Lorenzo had not been idle, but 
had lured a rich ship from Cartagena into port by raising the 
Spanish colors over the castle. The vessel carried several chests 
of emeralds, and a lot of provisions much needed by the 
garrison. 

The Buccaneers remained nearly a month in Panama, during 
which time as many as three thousand prisoners are said to have 
been gathered in. Probably this is an exaggeration. Many 
were put to the torture, while others ransomed themselves as 

" They say some Spanish padres told the people that the Buccaneers 
were not even of human form, and that they ate women and children. 
Raveneau de Lussan, on another occasion, relates how a Spanish lady 
implored him, "Sefior, for the love of God do not eat me." According 
to his own story, Lussan was entirely successful in disabusing the lady's 
mind of her false belief as to his human nature. Similar tales were 
circulated, in 1898-1900, in the Philippines concerning the American 
soldiers; and the Americanos succeeded equally well with the Filipinas 
in removing their delusions. 

Pour hundred thirty-one 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

soon as they could communicate with friends. A number of 
small vessels were seized, and the Buccaneers became fond of 
cruising about the Gulf of Panama. The exploits of the Eliza- 
bethan Seamen in the Pacific were recalled, and Morgan's dar- 
ing spirits saw the possibilities awaiting them in the South Sea ; 
particularly in the direction of Peru, from whence came the 
plate-ships. Several of his Captains planned to leave Morgan, 
and carried provisions and arms aboard ship for that purpose. 

It is doubtful whether, as often stated, this was mutinous 
conduct, as officers and men among the Buccaneers were at 
liberty to leave when the dangers of an expedition were past. 
The movement was becoming popular, so that soon they would 
be strong enough to demand division of the spoils before leav- 
ing Panama. This would materially interfere with Morgan's 
scheme for making away with the major portion of the loot. 
Accordingly, he chopped down the masts and burnt the vessels 
in the bay. There were also rumors that the Governor was 
forming another army to ambuscade the Buccaneers on their 
return, so Morgan thought it about time to be leaving Panama. 

Before relating his departure, let us take our leave of Don 
Juan Perez de Guzman. After being driven out of Panama, 
he writes: "After this misfortune, I gave order to all the 
People I met, that they fhould ftay for me at Nata, for there 
I intended to form the Body of an Army, once more to encoun- 
ter the Englifli But when I came to that City, I found not 
one Soul therein, for all were fled to the Mountains." He then 
very truly adds : "This Sir, has been a Chastifement from 
Heaven, and the same might have happened to that great Cap- 
tain Gonsalo Fernando de Cordova, as did to me, if his Men had 
deferted him, for one Man alone can do little." In spite of this 
explanatory letter, the Governor was deposed from office and 
carried prisoner to Lima, by order of the Vice-roy of Peru. 
He was succeeded by D. Antonio Fernandez de Cordoba, who 
was commissioned to rebuild the city on a better site. He died, 
however, in 1673, without having made the translocation ; and 
was replaced by D. Alonso Mercado de Villacorta, who, in 1674, 
laid the foundations of the new city, the present Panama, on a 
point of land at the foot of Ancon Hill, about five miles west of 
Panama Viejo. 

Having plundered every hamlet, estancia, and shack, for 
leagues around, Morgan gathered together pack animals and 
prepared to leave Panama. February 14th (according to Ex- 
quemelin, the 24th), 1671, the Buccaneers departed from the 

Four hundred thirty-two 



THB SACK OF PANAMA 

<lesolate and still smouldering city, with six hundred prisoners 
including men, women, children and slaves; and one hundred 
and seventy-five animals laden with loot. Fearing ambuscades 
they marched m good order, with van and rear guard, and the 
prisoners m a hollow square in the center. It was money and 
not prisoners that Morgan wanted, so he half-starved his cap- 
tives and made their lot as miserable as possible, so that tbey 
wou d make greater efforts to seek for ransom; otherwise they 
would be taken to Jamaica and sold into servitude. 
_ The beautiful lady of quality, before mentioned, was espe- 
cially guarded by a Buccaneer on either side. She lamented 
her unhappy fate, and told of authorizing two priests to obtain 
her ransom They got the money all right, but applied it to 
ransoming their own friends. A slave brought a letter tellinc^ 
of their perfidy, and the two priests, who were still prisoners, 
acknowledged their treachery. Finding her story true, Morgan 
ordered the woman and her parents to be set at liberty This 
IS the only apparent generous act that I can find in the entire life 
of Morgan, and I am inclined to believe that it was induced 
by the sympathy of his men for the unfortunate lady This is 
the last we hear of this admirable woman. Should the people 
of the Isthmus ever require a model of Beauty and Loveliness, 
Constancy and Chastity, they need seek no farther than the 
Beautiful Lady of Old Panama. I know that you will be sorry 
to hear that those two false priests were ransomed, a few davs 
later, while Morgan tarried at Venta Cruz. 

The caravan wended its way up through the foot-hills, and 
after a last view of Panama and the South Sea, crossed over 
the divide into the valley of the Chagres, and reached Cruces 
the next day, February fifteenth. The Bucaneers rested three 
days at Cruces, waiting for ransoms, and collecting maize and 
rice. Another account says that they remained here until Feb- 
ruary twenty-fourth. They then loaded the canoes with the 
stores and started down the river, reaching Chagre (the mod- 
ern Chagres) on the twenty-sixth. Half 4ay to San Lorenzo 
they made a landing, and Morgan had every man searched for 
valuables, setting the example himself. One out of each com- 
pany was assigned to search the rest, and so thoroughly was this 
done that even the muskets were taken apart to see that no pre 
cious stones were concealed therein. This caused much dissa- 
tisfaction, especially among the French flibustiers. 

At San Lorenzo they found all in good shape, except that 
most of the wounded left behind had died. The plunder was 

Pour hundred thirty-three 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

then divided. The spoils of the Panama expedition have been 
reckoned at several millions, but instead of receiving two or 
three thousand dollars per man, as they expected, each share 
amounted to but two hundred pieces-of -eight (two hundred 
silver dollars). This filled them with chagrin, and anger at 
their leader. Many of the Buccaneers, including some of the 
English, did not hesitate to tell Morgan to his face that he had 
reserved the best jewels for himself. 

Morgan sent some of the Spanish prisoners taken at St. 
Catherine as messengers to Puerto Bello, informing the authori- 
ties there that he would destroy the castle of San Lorenzo, if 
they did not redeem it. Puerto Bello declined to ransom San 
Lorenzo ; so Morgan took the guns aboard his ships, and set his 
men to work demolishing the fort. 

Discontent was growing among the Buccaneers, and Morgan 
himself was too rich a prize to remain longer with his mutinous 
crew ; so about March 6th he went aboard his ship at night, and 
sailed away with his English favorites, in three or four vessels, 
for Jamaica. As Captain Burney truly says, "Morgan was a 
great rogue, and little respected the old proverb of honor among 
thieves." Morgan was followed because he was successful; 
obeyed because he was feared ; but never liked or respected by 
his men. 

The French, Dutch and other nationalities left behind at 
Chagre, fumed in impotent rage, and started to sail after the 
Englishmen to fight for their share of the booty; but it was 
found that the remaining ships were the poorest in the fleet, and 
the plan was abandoned. They then broke up and dispersed. 
Some went to Honduras and Campeche to cut log-wood, always 
keeping their weather eye open for a chance to plunder. One 
party went to Cuba and sacked the Town of the Keys. Our 
friend, ExquemeHn, as his name would indicate, was one of 
those left in the lurch by Morgan. He accompanied another 
party of the Buccaneers that went up to Boca del Toro 
(Chiriqui Lagoon), where they lived on turtle, "the pleasant- 
est meat in the world." We next hear of Exquemelin crossing 
the Isthmus in 1680, with captains Coxon, Sharp, Sawkins, and 
others, and taking part in the fights before the new Panama. 

Morgan arrived safely at Port Royal, and the Governor, Sir 
Thomas Modyford, collected the Government's share of the 
spoils of Panama. Morgan then applied himself to recruiting 
for his settlement on Santa Catalina, but was compelled to 
desist by the hostile attitude of his government. 

Four hundred thirty-four 



THB SACK OF PANAMA 

The "Treaty of America," abolishing hostihties between 
Great Britain and Spain, had been signed at Madrid in July, 
1670, and England was experiencing one of her ephemeral out- 
bursts of virtue. The complaints of the Spanish Ambassador 
were now so effective that Modyford was arrested on the charge 
of "making war and committing depredations and acts of hos- 
tilities upon the subjects and territories of the King of Spain 
in America, contrary to his Majesty's express order and com- 
mand." He was taken to London and imprisoned in the Tower. 
A few months afterwards, in 1672, Morgan was also_ carried 
prisoner to England for his connection with buccaneering. 

Their arrest was of short duration, and Morgan rose rapidly 
in royal favor. With a goodly slice of his ill-gotten riches, and 
judicious presents to the King's favorite, Morgan was able to 
purchase knighthood from Charles II. John Evelyn notes in 
his diary: "20th October, 1674. At Lord Berkley's, I discoursed 
with Sir Thomas Modyford, late Governor of Jamaica, and 
with Colonel Morgan, who undertook that gallant exploit from 
Nombre de Dios [an error] to Panama, on the continent of 
America; he told me 10,000 men would easily conquer all the 
Spanish Indies, they were so secure. They took great booty, 
and much greater had been taken, had they not been betrayed 
and so discovered before their approach, by which the Span- 
iards had time to carry their vast treasures on board ships that 
put off to sea in sight of our men, who had no boats to follow. 
They set fire to Panama and ravaged the country for sixty miles 
about. The Spaniards were so supine and unexercised, that 
they were afraid to fire a great gun." 

This would seem to indicate that Morgan himself told Evelyn 
that he had fired Panama. As I said before, I do not believe 
that the Buccaneers burnt the city. It is likely that in later 
years Morgan and other Englishmen claimed credit for what 
came to be looked upon as a meritorious deed. Sir Henry 
returned to Jamaica in 1675, and led the life of a man of 
wealth and of affairs in the colony. Officially, he distinguished 
himself by his severity towards the Buccaneers who had for- 
merly been his followers and the makers of his fortune. 

The most accurate and condensed account of Henry Morgan 
is the article in "National Biography," by Laughton. For the 
period after his return from Panama, I quote freely: "At 
Jamaica Morgan received the formal thanks of the Governor 
and Council on the 31st of May. But meantime, on the 8th 
of July, 1670, that is, after the signing of Morgan's commission, 

Four hundred thirty-five 



HBNRY MORGAN AND 

a treaty concerning America had been concluded at Madrid, 
and although the publication of this treaty was only ordered to 
be made in America within eight months from loth October 
(Cal. State Papers, A. and W. I., 31 Dec. 1670, p. 146), and 
though in May, 1671, Modyford had as yet no official knowledge 
of it (ib. No. 531), he was sent home a prisoner in the summer 
of 1671, to answer for his support of the buccaneers; and in 
April, 1672, Morgan was also sent to England in the Welcome 
frigate (ib. No. 794). His disgrace, however, was short. By 
the summer of 1674 he was reported as in high favor with the 
King (ib. No. 623), and a few months later he was granted a 
commission, with the style of Colonel Henry Morgan, to be 
lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, 'his Majesty,' so it ran, 'repos- 
ing particular confidence in his loyalty, prudence and courage, 
and long experience of that colony.' (ib. Nov. 6, 1674, No. 
1379). He sailed from England in company with Lord Vaughn 
early in December, having previously, probably in November, 
been knighted. 

His voyage out was unfortunate. 'In the Downs,' wrote 
Vaughn from Jamaica, on 23 May, 1675, 'I gave him orders 
in writing to keep me company. * * * However, he, covet- 
ing to be here before me, wilfully lost me, and sailed directly 
for Isle de la Vache, where, through his folly, his ship was 
wrecked, and the stores which he had on board were lost. 
(Dartmouth MSS., Hist. MSS Comm. nth Rep. pt. V. p. 25; 
cf. Bridge, Annals of Jamaica, i. 273). 

For the rest of his life Morgan appears to have remained in 
Jamaica, a man of wealth and position, taking an active part in 
the affairs of the colony as lieutenant-governor, senior mem- 
ber of the Council, and commander-in-chief of the forces. 
When Lord Vaughn was recalled, pending the arrival of the 
Earl of Carlisle, Morgan was for a few months acting-gover- 
nor; and again on Carlisle's return in 1680, till in 1682 he was 
relieved by Sir Thomas Lynch. "His inclination," said the 
Speaker in a formal address to the Assembly on 21st July, 
1688, "carried him on vigorously to his Majesty's service and 
this island's interest. His study and care was that there might 
be no murmuring, no complaining in our streets, no man in his 
property injured, or of his liberty restrained." (Journals of 
the Assembly of Jamaica, 1.121)." 

Some time after 1665, Morgan married his first cousin, Mary 
Elizabeth, daughter of that Colonel Edward Morgan who died 
at St. Eustatius. Henry Morgan died in 1688, without issue, 

Four hundred thirty-six 



THB SACK OP PANAMA 

and was buried in St. Catherine's church, Port Royal, on the 
26th day of August. Lady Morgan lived until 1696, when the 
fortune went to Charles Bundless, or Byndlos, the son of her 
eldest sister, conditionally on his taking the name of Morgan. 



Letter of Don Alonfo del Campo and Bfpinofa, Admiral of the 
Spanifh Fleet, unto Captain Morgan, Commander of the Pirats. 

"Having underftood by all our Friends and Neighbours, the unex- 
pected news, that you have dared to attempt and commit Hoftilities in 
the Countries, Cities, Towns, and Villages belonging unto the Dominions 
of his Catholick Majefty, my foveraign Lord and Mafter; I let you 
underftand by thefe lines, that I am come unto this place, according to 
my obligation, nigh unto that Caftle which you took out of the hands of 
a parcel of Cowards ; where I have put things into a very good pofture 
of defence, and mounted again the Artillery which you had nailed and 
difmounted. My intent is to difpute with you your paffage out of the 
Lake, and follow and purfue you every-where, to the end you may fee 
the performance of my duty. Notwithftanding if you be contented to 
furrender with humility all that you have taken, together with the 
Slaves and all other prifoners, I will let you freely pafs, without trouble 
or moleftation ; upon condition that you retire home pref ently unto your 
own country. But in case that you make any refiftance or oppofition 
unto thefe things that I proffer unto you, I do affure you I will com- 
mand Boats to come from Caracas, wherein I will put my Troops, and 
coming to Maracaibo, will caufe you utterly to perifh, by putting you 
every man to the fword. This is my laft and abfolute refolution. Be 
prudent therefore, and do not abufe my Bounty with Ingratitude. I 
have with me very good Souldiers, who defire nothing more ardently, 
than to revenge on you and your People, all the cruelties and bafe 
infamous actions you have committed upon the Spanifh Nation in 
America. Dated on board the Royal Ship named the Magdalen, lying 
at anchor at the entry of the Lake of Maracaibo, this 24th day of 
April, 1669." 

— Don Alonfo del Campo y Efpinosa. 



Pour hundred thirty-seven 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA BAY 
AND THE SOUTH SEA. 




"O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea, 
Our thoughts as boundless and our souls as tree. 
Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam. 
Survey our empire and behold our home '. 
These are our realms, no limits to their sway — 
Our flag the sceptre all who meet obey. 
Ours the wild life in tumult still to range ^^ 
From toil to rest, and joy in every change. ^ ^^^ 

I HE sack of Old Panama by Henry Morgaw 
called the attention of the Buccaneers to the 
feasibility of crossing the Isthmus, and the 
opportunities for plunder on the Pacific coast. 
During Morgan's stay in Panama, he had great 
difficulty, as we know, in preventing some of 
his men from seizing a ship, and sailing away 
on their own account. The invasion of the 
Isthmus by Buccaneers, the fall of San Lor- 
enzo, and the capture of Portobello and 
Panama, showed how easy it was to open the 
"Gateway" of the New World. The king of 
Spain became alarmed, and ordered that Panama be rebuilt on 
a better site ; and that the forts at Portobello, and the castle at 
the mouth of the Chagre, be repaired and strengthened. 

In 1674, Don Alonso Mercado de Villacorta established the 
present city of Panama on a rocky peninsula at the foot of 
Ancon Hill, eight kilometers two hundred and sixty meters 
southwest of the old city. The new location was easier to 
defend, but not so advantageous commercially by reason of the 
reefs, which prevented vessels coming up to the city, except 
at high tide. The streets of New Panama were laid out at 
right-angles about a central plaza. The city was surrounded 
by a wall from twenty to forty feet high, and ten feet wide, with 
bastions and watch-towers every two or three hundred feet. A 
moat separated the city from the mainland, and access was 

Pour hundred thirty-nine 



THE BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

gained through three massive gateways. So expensive were 
the fortifications of the new city that the council in Spain, 
auditing the accounts, wrote to inquire whether the walls were 
constructed of silver or of gold. 

In 1673, Thomas Peche, an English privateer, sailed into the 
South Sea; and in 1675, strange ships were reported off the 
coast of Chili. The viceroy of Peru sent Don Antonio de Vea 
in a ship to reconnoitre, and he went as far as the west entrance 
of the Strait of Magellan, but found no intruders. One of his 
tenders, with a crew of sixteen men, was wrecked on the small 
islands called Evangelists, at the mouth of the strait; De Vea 
returning to Callao in 1676. 

The first to follow Morgan in raiding the Isthmus were the 
French. In 1675, Captain La Sound, with a hundred and 
twenty flibustiers, was guided to the town of Chepo by some 
Darien Indians^ ; but the Sargento Mayor D. Alonso de Alcau- 
date, with the assistance of the inhabitants, repulsed them with 
energy. In 1678, another French expedition, commanded by 
Captain Bournano succeeded in taking Chepo, and plundered 
the town. The Indians offered to conduct the French to a place 
called Tocamoro, where they said the Spaniards had much gold ; 
but Bournano thought his force too small, promising to come 
again better prepared. 

In 1679, ^s we already know, the crews of two English and 
one French vessel united in an attack on Portobello. They 
landed two hundred men at such a distance from the town that 
it required three nights marching to reach it ; for during the day 
they lay concealed in the woods. When near Portobello they 
were discovered by a negro, who ran ahead to give the alarm, 
but the buccaneers followed so closely that they got possession 
of the town before the people could prepare for defence. Not 
knowing the smallness of their force, the inhabitants all fled. 
The buccaneers spent two days and nights in Portobello, col- 
lecting plunder, and in constant apprehension that the Spaniards 
would return in force and attack them. However, they got 
back to their ships unmolested, and shared 160 pieces-of-eight 
to each man. 

This same year, William Dampier, the famous navigator, 
naturalist, and buccaneer, returned to Jamaica, and started out 
on a trading voyage with Mr. Hobby to the Mosquito shore. 
Soon after leaving Port Royal, the ship anchored in a bay in 
the western end of the island, where were Captains Coxon, 

^ As usual, the white man required the help of the natives. 
Four hundred forty 



AND THB SOUTH SBA 

Sawkins, Sharp, and other "privateers." Mr. Hobby's crew 
deserted to the buccaneers, and with them went Dampier. 
From here, the buccaneers went to Boca del Toro, where there 
were plenty of fat turtles; and then assembled with some 
French ships at the Samhallas, or Isles of San Bias, near the 
coast of Darien. It was their intent, on the report made by 
Captain Bournano, to go against "a very rich place named 
Tocamora." The Indians of Darien,^ on whom the buccaneers 
depended for aid, now disapproved the project of going to 
Tocamoro, and advised an attempt on the city of Panama; 
offering to guide them. The English were willing, but the 
French objected to the length of the march, and the two nation- 
alities separated; the English buccaneers going to Golden 
Island {Isla de Oro), "which is the most eastern of the Sam- 
ballas, if not more properly to be said to the eastward of all the 
Samballas." ' 

Panama was considered too great an undertaking without the 
assistance of the French ; but the English were bent on cross- 
ing the Isthmus, and, at the suggestion of the Indians, they 
decided to make a raid on a town called Santa Maria* situated 
on the banks of a river that ran into the gulf of San Miguel. 
This place was simply a gold collecting station, and was guarded 
by a detachment of Spanish troops. 

The buccaneer forces engaged in this expedition were the 
following : 

Guns. Men. 

A vessel of 8 and 97 commanded by John Coxon. 

" " 25 " 107 " Peter Harris. 

" " I " 35 " Richard Sawkins. 

" " 2 " 40 " Bart. Sharp. 

" " o " 43 " Edmond Cook. 

" " o " 24 " Robert Alleston. 

" " o " 20 " Macket. 

The last two captains, Alleston and Macket, with thirty-five 
men, including themselves, were left to guard the seven vessels 

" Dampier says that the foundation of the friendship of the Dariens 
for the English was laid by Captain Wright, who, in 1665, off the Sam- 
ballas, captured an Indian lad, whom he named John Gret. Wright 
treated the boy well, and convinced his tribe that the English hated 
the Spaniards. 

^ Captain James Burney. 

*Real de Santa Maria. 

Four hundred forty-one 



THB BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA BAY 

during the raid ; which was not expected to be of long continu- 
ance. Chief Andres/ styled Emperor of Darien, agreed to 
furnish guides and supply subsistence during the march ; pay- 
ment being made in axes, hatchets, knives, needles, beads, and 
trinkets. 

On the 5th of April,* 1680,' three hundred and thirty-one 
buccaneers, most of them Englishmen, passed over from Golden 
Island to the mainland ; each man provided with four cakes of 
bread called dough-boys, with a fusil, a pistol, and a hanger. 
The crews* marched under their several commanders, with dis- 
tinguishing flags. Captain Bartholomew Sharp and his mer^ 
taking the lead. Among the medical men was Lionel Wafer, 
surgeon's mate, who wrote such an interesting account of the 
Isthmus." Chiefs Andres and Antonio had charge of the Darien 
allies ; and there were also a few Mosquito Indians from about 
Cape Gracias a Dios, always faithful friends to the English, 
whose king they voluntarily acknowledged as their sovereign. 

° Written Andreas by the English. 

' Near the end of the dry season on the Isthmus. 

' A short time before this undertaking, Captain Coxon (with Dampier 
aboard), in company with several more privateers, captured some 
Spanish Packets about four leagues east of Portobel. "We open'd a 
great quantity of the Merchants Letters, and found the Contents of 
many of them to be very surprising, the Merchants of several parts 
of Old Spain thereby informing their Correspondents of Panama, and 
elsewhere, of a certain Prophecy that went about Spain that Year, the 
Tenour of which was. That there would be English Privateers that 
Year in the West Indies, who would make such great Discoveries, as to 
open a Door into the South Seas ; which they supposed was fastest 
shut : And the Letters were accordingly full of Cautions to their 
Friends to be very watchful and careful of their Coasts. This Door they 
spoke of we all concluded must be the Passage over Land through the 
Country of the Indians of Darien, who were a little before this become 
our Friends, and had lately fallen out with the Spaniards." 

^ "Our several companies that marched were distinguished as follows. 
First, Captain Bartholomew Sharp with his company had a red flag, 
with a bunch of white and green ribbons. The second division led by 
Captain Richard Sawkins, with his men had a red flag striped with 
yellow. The third and fourth, led by Captain Peter Harris, had two 
green flags, his company being divided into two several divisions. The 
fifth and sixth, led by Captain John Coxon, who had some of AUeston's 
and Mackett's men joined to his, made two divisions or companies, 
and had each of them a red flag. The seventh was led by Captain 
Edmund Cook with red colours striped with yellow, with a hand and 
sword for his device. All or most of them, were armed with fuzee, 
pistol, and hanger." — Exquemelin. 

° That gifted man, William Dampier, with Basil Ringrose, and Alex- 
andre Olivier Exquemelin, were also in this expedition, and have left 
accounts of their adventures. 

Four hundred forty-two 



AND THE SOUTH SUA 

The first day, the expedition marched through the skirt of a 
wood, then along a bay for a league, and afterwards about two 
leagues directly up a woody valley; which brought them to an 
Indian house and plantation by the side of a river. Some 
passed the night in the house, others built huts ; the Indians 
cautioning them against sleeping in the grass, on account of 
adders. The stones in this river, when broken, shone with 
sparks of gold." The Indians said these stones were washed 
down from the mountains during the rainy season. The first 
day's hike satisfied four of the buccaneers, and they backed out 
and returned to the ships. 

The second day, April 6th, they started out at sunrise, and 
labored up a steep hill, which they surmounted about three in 
the afternoon ; and at the foot, on the other side, the buccaneers 
rested on the bank of a river, which Capt. Andres told them ran 
into the South Sea, and was the same by which Santa Maria 
was situated. They proceeded about six miles farther, over 
another steep hill, where the path was so narrow that seldom 
more than one man could pass at a time. At night they camped 
by the river, having marched this day about eighteen miles. 

The next day, the party continued down the river, which ran 
with a swift current and serpentine course, which they had to 
cross almost at every half mile, sometimes only knee-deep, other 
times up to their middle. About noon they arrived at some 
large Indian houses, thatched over with palmito leaves, and the 
interior divided into rooms, but no upper storey. Before each 
house was a large plantain walk. Continuing their journey, at 
five in the afternoon they came to a house belonging to a son 
of Chief Andres, who wore a wreath of gold about his head, for 
which he was dubbed by the buccaneers King Golden Cap 
(Bonete de Oro). The young chieftain entertained the party 
so well that they rested there the whole of the following day. 

On the 9th of April, they resumed the march, accompanied 
by about two hundred Indians, armed with bows and arrows. 
They descended along the river, through which they had to 
wade fifty or sixty times. The buccaneers came to a house 
"only here and there" ; at most of which the owner, who had 
been apprised of their coming, stood at the door and handed 
each man a ripe plantain, or some sweet cassava root. Here 
the Indians counted the white men by dropping a grain of corn 
for every one that went by. That night they lodged at three 
large houses, where entertainment was provided. 

" Confer reports by the Caledonia colonists a few years later. 

Four hundred forty-three 



THB BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

The next morning, Captain Coxon and Captain Harris had 
some disagreement ; and Coxon fired his fusil at Harris, but 
without effect. Harris was about to return the shot, when he 
was restrained by Captain Sharp and others. The river was 
now navigable, and fourteen canoes had been provided, each 
managed by two Indians. These could accommodate only 
seventy of the British, the rest continuing by land. Those in 
the canoes became as weary as those marching, for at almost 
every furlong they were compelled to carry their boats over 
rocks, fallen trees, and sometimes over necks of land. At night 
they stopped and built shelters for themselves on a green bank 
by the river's side, where some wild- fowl were shot. 

The following day, being the nth day of April, the canoes 
continued to descend the river, meeting with the same obstacles 
as on the preceding day, and at night camped on the shore. 
"Our supper entertainment was a very good sort of a wild 
beast called a "warre," which is much like to our English hog, 
and altogether as good. There are store of them in this part 
of the world : I observed that the navels of these animals grew 
upon their backs." " At night a "Tygre" " visited the camp, 
looked at them for some time, and then went away. The bucca- 
neers refrained from shooting the animal lest the report of their 
muskets should alarm the Spaniards about Santa Maria. So 
far, the land party had not caught up with those in the canoes. 

The next day, the water party continued down the same river, 
somewhat concerned about not hearing from their comrades on 
the land. Perceiving their anxiety. Captain Andres sent back a 
canoe, which returned before sunset with some of the land 
party, and intelligence that the remainder were not far behind. 

Early the next day, Tuesday the 13th, the buccaneers arrived 
at a beachy point of land; where another stream from the hills 
joined the river. This was a point of rendezvous for the 
Indians: and here the entire party rested and cleaned their 

"A common, but erroneous observation by the early writers. The 
"navel," so-called, on the back of the animal is a fetid gland, which 
must be removed soon after killing it to prevent the meat becoming 
tainted. 

" Properly speaking, there are no tigers in the western hemisphere. 
The Jaguar is called tigre, or tiger, all over Central America ; and some- 
times the natives apply the term tigre to other members of the Felidae, 
even to the puma, or lion. Within the limits of Panama are found two 
varieties of the jaguar, the spotted and the black (el tigre pintado and 
el tigre negro). The writer encountered a pair of beautiful black 
"tigres" in the mountains of the Isthmus. 

Pour hundred forty-four 



AND THB SOUTH SUA 

arms. Thus far the canoes had been carried down by the 
current, and guided with poles, but here the river was broad 
and deep, so they made paddles to navigate with. 

On the 14th, buccaneers and Indians, nearly six hundred 
men in all, embarked in sixty-eight canoes provided by the 
natives, and at midnight made a landing within half a mile of 
Santa Maria. At daybreak of the 15th of April, they heard 
guns fired by the guard in the town, and a "drum beating a 
travailler." By seven o'clock the buccaneers were on the open 
ground in front of the fort, when the Spaniards began firing. 
The fort was formed simply of palisades, some of which the 
English pulled down and entered without difficulty. The Span- 
iards surrendered without much opposition; nevertheless, 
twenty-six were killed and sixteen wounded. After the fight, 
it seems that the Indians were left in charge of some of the 
Spaniards, whom they took out in the adjoining woods, and 
then proceeded to kill them with lances. Fortunately, they 
were discovered at this pastime by the buccaneers, else not a 
prisoner would have been left alive.'^ The Governor and some 
others escaped down the river. Captain Sawkins and ten men 
pursued them in a canoe, hoping to prevent news of the bucca- 
neers reaching Panama. 

The Spaniards had received some notice of the coming of the 
buccaneers, and all they could pillage, either in the town or fort, 
amounted to but twenty pounds weight of gold and a little 
silver ; whereas three days sooner, they would have found three 
hundred weight of gold in the fort. The buccaneers were 
much disappointed, and now wanted to try their luck in the 
South Sea, to seek compensation for their failure at Santa 
Maria. Captain Coxon and his crew were for returning to the 
North Sea; but joined the majority when Coxon was made 
general of the expedition. Most of the Darien Indians left for 
their homes, but Andres and his son Golden Cap, with some 
warriors, continued with the English. 

The buccaneers burnt the town, and on the 17th started down 
the Santa Maria river," which is the largest of several rivers 
which fall into the gulf of San Miguel. About thirty Spanish 

" A daughter of Chief Andres had been stolen by a Spanish officer at 
Santa Maria, and was now found with child by him. This increased 
the natural enmity between the two races. 

"Abreast the town, the Santa Maria was reckoned to be twice as 
broad as the Thames at London; and the rise and fall of the tide was 
two and a half fathoms. 

Pour hundred forty-five 



THE BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

prisoners entreated not to be left behind to fall victims to the 
Indians, and managed to construct rafts on which to follow 
the buccaneers. The Englishmen landed on a small island at 
the mouth of the river, where they found two women left by 
the fleeing governor. Basil Ringrose was tardy in getting away 
fron Santa Maria, lost his way on the river, and was over- 
turned in the gulf of San Miguel. He escaped to a little island, 
and later, fell into the hands of the Spaniards ; but was 
released for having saved the lives of some of the Santa Maria 
prisoners. 

On the 19th of April, 1680, the buccaneers passed from the 
gulf of San Miguel into the gulf of Panama. The same day 
they all united at Plantain Island, where they captured a vessel 
of thirty tons, on which 130 of the party embarked. The buc- 
caneers separated to seek provisions, agreeing to rendezvous at 
the island of Chepillo. Captain Sharp went to the King, or 
Pearl Island, in the bark hunting fresh water, but the rest met 
at Chepillo, at the entrance of the river Chepo, on the 22nd; 
and at four o'clock that same afternoon started towards 
Panama in canoes. On the morning of the 23rd, they came 
in sight of the new*" city, and found eight vessels lying in the 
road. 

The authorities at Panama knew that the buccaneers were in 
the bay, and had manned three ships with all the crews in the 
harbor, as well as with some of the land force. The flagship 
had a crew of 86 Biscayans, and was commanded by Jacinto 
de Barahona, high admiral of the South Sea; the second ship 
was manned by yy negroes, and commanded by Francisco de 
Peralta; the third contained a crew of 65 mulattoes, under 
Diego de Carabajal. As soon as the buccaneers were descried, 
the three war vessels stood towards them. A desperate battle 
ensued, which lasted the greater part of the day. The wind 
was too light for the ships to maneuver to advantage, and the 
buccaneers in their canoes could so place themselves as to avoid 
the gun-fire of the Spanish. The flagship was captured, the 
admiral being killed in the attempt. Peralta fought his ship 
gallantly, and repulsed two efforts of Sawkins to board her. 
Several explosions of powder took place, and when Sawkins 
succeeded on the third attempt, the deck presented a horrible 

"At this time (1680) New Panama was already built up, though its 
eight churches were not yet completed. The cathedral church at the 
old city was still in use, "the beautiful building whereof," says Rin- 
grose, "maketh a fair show at a distance, like unto the church of St. 
Paul's at London." 

Four hundred forty-six 



AND THE SOUTH SEA 

sight. "There was not a ^lan but was either killed, desperately 
wounded, or horribly burnt with Powder. Insomuch, that their 
Black Skins were turned White in several places, the Powder 
having torn it from their Flesh and Bones." The third ship 
was more easily secured. 

Captain Sharp was still away in the bark with about one 
hundred men, so the number of buccaneers engaged in the 
fight was about 200, of whom 18 were killed, and above 30 
wounded. Among the latter was Captain Peter Harris, who 
died two days later. They considered that Captain Sawklns 
had particularly distinguished himself; while many thought 
their commander, John Coxon, had shown backwardness in ^he 
fight. The Darien chiefs were in the heat of the combat. After 
the battle, the buccaneers went to the island of Perico, where 
the five other ships were found abandoned ; the largest, called 
the Santisima Trinidad, of 400 tons, was burning. The English 
put out the fire, and used her as a hospital for the wounded, and 
later for cruising. In the other prizes were found amrnu- 
nition. flour, and other provisions. Some of the stores, which 
the Spaniards refused to ransom, they destroyed. Among the 
islands they also captured some small vessels laden with poultry. 
Thus, within a week after entering the South Sea, the bucca- 
neers had provided themselves with a fleet sufficient^ for their 
number, fairly well provisioned, with which they maintained a 
close blockade by sea of Panama." 

A few days after the battle with the Spanish armadilla, Cap- 
tain Coxon, aggrieved at the reflections cast upon his behaviour 
during the fight, departed with about 70 adherents to return to 
the North Sea by the route they had come. He, of course, left 
his wounded, but carried off nearly all the medicines and the 
best doctor in the party. Captain Andres and Captain Antonio, 
with most of the Dariens, departed at the same time ; but chief 
Andres left one son and a nephew with the buccaneers. 

Richard Sawkins" was now chosen general or commander. 
After remaining ten days before the city, they retired to the 

"When the Buccaneers first appeared before the new Panama, most 
of the garrison, consisting of 300 regular troops and a larger number 
of militia (said to have been iioo), were away; and the few remaining 
soldiers were put on the fleet. Had the Buccaneers attacked the city 
at this time, it probably would have fallen. A few cannon on the slope 
of Ancon jMountain would have commanded the town. 

^' Sometimes confused with Capt. Richard Hawkins (son of Sir John 
Hawkins), captured by the Spaniards in the South Sea, and who passed 
through Panama. 

Four hundred forty-seven 



THE BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

island of Tahogal^ more distant, but where they could better 
observe vessels leaving or approaching Panama. The bucca- 
neers made some captures, securing 1200 packs of flour, 2000 
jars of wine, brandy, sugar, merchandise, and between 50,000 
and 60,000 dollars. At Taboga they were visited by the mer- 
chants of Panama, who bought some of the prize goods, and 
negro slaves at 200 pieces-of- eight a head. The governor of 
Panama sent a message demanding "why, during a time of 
peace between England and Spain, Englishmen should come 
into these seas to commit injury, and from whom they had 
their commissions so to do." Captain Sawkins replied that they 
had come "to assist their friend the King of Darien, who was 
the rightful Lord of Panama and all the country thereabouts" ; 
that as yet all his company were not come together, but when 
they were come up, they would visit him at Panama and bring 
their "Commissions on the Muzzles of their Guns, at which 
time he should read them as plain as the Flame of Gunpowder 
could make them." Sawkins further added that, "as they had 
come so far, it was reasonable they should receive some satis- 
faction for their trouble; and if the governor would send to 
them 500 pieces of eight for each man, and 1000 for each com- 
mander, and would promise not any farther to annoy the 
Darien Indians, their allies, that then the buccaneers would 
desist from hostilities and go quietly about their business." 

By the merchants who traded with them, Captain Sawkins 
learned that the bishop of Panama, the famous Piedrahita, was 
the person whom he had captured when in the West Indies, and 
sent him a gift as a token of regard ; the bishop sending a gold 
ring in return. A rich ship was expected from Lima, and 
Sawkins wished to wait for her, but the men had consumed all 
the fresh food within reach, and wished to go elsewhere. 

On the 15th of May, 1580, the buccaneers departed from 
Taboga and sailed to the island of Otoque, where they found 
hogs and poultry ; and the same day, or the next, they left for 
the large island of Quibo; with the intention of attacking 
Pueblo Nuevo, on the mainland. The buccaneers were now in 
three ships and two small barks, when encountering rough seas 
and contrary winds, the two little vessels — one with fifteen men, 
the other with only seven — became separated from the ships. 

""This Taboga," says Sharp, "is an exceeding pleasant island, 
abounding in fruits, such as pine-apples, oranges, lemons, pears, mam- 
mees, cocoa-nuts, and others; with a small, but brave, commodious 
fresh river running in it. The anchorage is also clear and good." 

Pour hundred forty-eight 



AND THB SOUTH SUA 

The one with seven men was taken by the Spaniards, but the 
other reached the gulf of San Miguel, and recrossed the Isth- 
mus with Captain Coxon. 

Arriving at Quiho about the 21st, Captain Sawkins, with 
sixty men, went in the smallest ship to the entrance of the river 
which leads to the town." From the north shore of Quibo to 
Pueblo Nuevo was reckoned eight leagues. At the mouth of 
the river, the commander proceeded in canoes, using a negro 
prisoner for pilot, directing the ship to follow. The ship 
entered the river keeping close to the east shore, on which there 
is a round hill. "Within two stones' cast of the shore there was 
four fathoms' depth ; and v/ithin the point a very fine and large 
river opens. But, being strangers to the place, the ship was 
run aground nigh a rock which lieth by the westward shore ; 
for the true channel of this river is nearer to the east than to 
the west shore. The island Quibo is south south-east from the 
mouth of this river." '° 

A Frenchman had deserted the buccaneers at Taboga and 
disclosed their plan to go against Pueblo Nuevo. Those in the 
canoes found the river obstructed with trees which the Span- 
iards had felled, and the town protected with a "stockado," and 
well defended. The buccaneers waited in their canoes till day- 
light, when Sawkins landed and led the charge against a breast- 
work. The captain"^ and two others were killed, and four or 
five wounded, by the fire of the Spaniards, who were on the 
alert. The death of their commander, who was much loved 
by the men, discouraged the buccaneers, and Captain Sharp,"^ 
next in command, ordered a retreat. Three more men were 
wounded during the re-embarkation. Going down the river 
they took a ship containing indigo, butter, and pitch ; and burnt 
two others. 

Returning to Quibo, the buccaneers elected Bartholomew 
Sharp to be their leader, but between sixty and seventy were 
dissatisfied with the choice, and departed in one of the vessels, 
to return over the Isthmus by the gulf of San Miguel. All the 



^° Pueblo Nuevo, more often called Remedios, is on the Rio Santa 
Lucia. 

^^ Basil Ringrose. 

^ "Captain Sawkins was a valiant and generous spirited man, and 
beloved above any other we ever had among us, which he well deserved." 
— Ringrose. 

^ Ringrose describes him as "that Sea- Artist, and Valiant Comman- 
der, Captain Bartholomew Sharp." 

Four hundred forty-nine 



THE BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA BAY 

remaining Darien Indians went back with this party, leaving 
146 buccaneers with Captain Sharp. 

On the 6th of June, 1680, Sharp and his party sailed from 
Quibo in two ships for the coast of Peru. On the 17th they 
anchored on the south side of the island of Gorgona, then unin- 
habited, where they lived on rabbits, monkeys, turtle, oysters, 
and birds. July 25th, they put to sea again, and instead of 
attacking Guayaquil, as he started out to do, Captain Sharp 
continued on southward. August 13th, they arrived at the 
island of Plata; where Francis Drake is said to have divided 
his silver by the bucketful. Here they killed a hundred goats 
in one day, salting what they did not consume at the time. 
Leaving here, they continued on south ; and on the 25th, when 
near Cape St. Elena, captured a Spanish ship bound for 
Panama, in which they found three thousand dollars. This 
prize was sunk, and soon afterward the buccaneers abandoned 
one of their vessels, it being a poor sailer, and all went in the 
"Trinidad." 

September 4th, they took a vessel from Guayaquil bound for 
Lima, and later passed Callao at a distance from land, being 
apprehensive there might be ships of war in the road. On 
October 26th, Sharp manned the boats to make an attack on 
Arica; but found the surf high, and all the people up in arms, 
so abandoned the attempt. Farther south, they succeeded in 
landing at Ilo, securing provisions and fresh water. December 
3rd, they took the town oi La Serena, where was found 500 
pounds weight of silver. Here, Sharp released all his prison- 
ers, except a pilot, and stood from the continent for Juan Fer- 
nandez, where he arrived on Christmas Day. Sharp and the 
more thrifty buccaneers were now for going home by way of 
the Strait of Magellan; but the majority had gambled away 
their shares, and wished to try their fortune longer in the 
South Sea. 

While at Juan Fernandez, the buccaneers settled their dis- 
agreement by deposing Sharp, and giving the command to 
John Watling, "an old privateer, and esteemed a stout seaman." 
Articles were drawn up in writing, and signed by Watling and 
the crew. Captain Watling's first order was for the observance 
of the Sabbath. "This day, the 9th January, was the first 
Sunday that ever we kept by command since the loss and death 
of our valiant commander Captain Sawkins, who once threw 
the dice overboard, finding them in use on the said day." 

On the nth day of January, 1681, two boats were sent to a 

Four hundred fifty 



AND THB SOUTH SUA 

distant part of the island to catch goats,"^ but returned in great 
haste on the following morning, firing muskets to give alarm. 
They reported three ships, believed to be Spanish war vessels, 
heading for the island ; so the men getting water and hunting 
on shore were hurriedly called aboard, the cable was slipped, 
and the "Trinidad" put to sea. One of the Mosquito Indians, 
called William, was absent in the woods hunting goats, and did 
not hear the alarm, and in the haste to get away poor Will was 
left behind. 

■ The three Spanish cruisers and the buccaneer ship remained 
in sight of each other for two days; but neither side attempted 
battle. The English had no caimon, and must have trusted to 
their small arms and to boarding. On the night of the 13th, 
the buccaneers steered eastward, returning to the coast of Peru, 
and on the 26th, arrived at the small island of Yqueque, where 
the Indians ate certain leaves "which were in taste much like 
to the bay leaves in England, by the continual use of which 
their teeth were dyed of a green colour." 

Captain Watling, on the 30th, landed with ninety-two men 
on the mainland, and gained the town of Arica, The affair 
was managed badly, and the Spaniards recovered from their 
surprise, and bravely drove the intruders back to their boats. 
The buccaneers lost twenty-eight men, killed or captured; 
among the former being Captain Watling. Those taken prison- 
ers by the Spaniards were all knocked on the head, except two 
surgeons, "they being able to do them good service in that 
country." 

On the 17th of April, 1681, when near the Isle of Plate, a 
division again occurred among the buccaneers, the majority 
reinstating Captain Sharp in the command ; while the minority, 
forty-seven in all, departed in the long-boat and canoes for the 
gulf of San Miguel, to return over the Isthmus to the Carib- 
bean Sea. 

From the island of Plata, Captain Sharp went north again, 
passing Panama without stopping, and entered the gulf of 
Nicoya. In Caldera Bay, he careened and repaired the ship, 
pressing some local carpenters into service. After sacking 
Bsparza, the buccaneers sailed back again to the island Plata, 
taking three prizes on the way. The first was the "San 
Pedro," with 37,000 pesos aboard ; the second, a packet from 

^ Introduced by Juan Fernandez, who discovered these islands in 
1574. The group is 350 miles west of Valparaiso, Chile. 

Four hundred fifty-one 



THB BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

Panama bound for Callao, from which they learned that the 
people of Panama believed all the Englishmen had returned 
overland to the West Indies. The third ship was the San 
Rosario," which resisted until her captain was killed. Besides 
brandy, wine, oil, and fruit, she yielded to each buccaneer 
ninety- four dollars ; 700 pigs of plate, supposed to be tin, were 
left in the Rosario.^ She also had a great number of charts 
and maps of the navigations performed by the Spaniards in the 
Pacific Ocean, which were taken along, and afterwards turned 
over to the British government. 

"August the I2th they anchored at the island Plata, whence 
they departed on the i6th, bound southward, intending to 
return by the Strait of Magelhanes or Strait le Maire "^ to the 
West Indies." Meeting with stormy weather, generally found 
at the Pacific entrance of Magellan's Strait, Captain Sharp went 
around Cape Horn, stealing on the way an Indian boy, whom 
they named Orson. December 5th, when in the Atlantic Ocean, 
and steering for the West Indies, the balance of the plunder was 
divided; each man receiving 328 pieces-of-eight. On the 15th 
of January, died William Stephens, a seaman, whose death was 
attributed to his having eaten three manchineal apples six 
months before, when on the coast of New Spain; "from which 
time he wasted away till he became a perfect skeleton." 

On the 28th of January, 1682, Captain Sharp and his party 
of buccaneers arrived at the island of Barhadoes, but on learn- 
ing that the "Richmond," a British frigate, was lying at Bridge- 
town, they were afraid to stop. "We, having acted in all our 
voyage without a commission, dared not be so bold as to put in, 
lest the said frigate should seize us for pirateering and strip 
us of all we had got in the whole voyage." They then sailed 
to Antigua, which they reached February ist; where the gover- 
nor. Colonel Codrington, would not let them enter the harbor ; 

^"We took only one pig of the 700 into our ship, thinking" to make 
bullets of it; and to this effect, or what else our seamen pleased, the 
greatest part of it was melted and squandered away. Afterwards, when 
we arrived at Antigua, we gave the remaining part (which was about 
one-third thereof) to a Bristol man, who knew presently what it was, 
who brought it to England, and sold it there for £75 sterling. Thus 
we parted with the richest booty we got in the whole voyage through 
our own ignorance and laziness." — Exquemelin. 

^ L,e Maire and Van Schouten, two Dutch navigators, doubled Cape 
Horn (Hoorn) in Januar}', 1616, giving it the name of the birth-place 
of Van Schouten. The discovery of this route rendered worthless the 
Spanish defences in Magellan's Strait. Francis Drake probably sighted 
Cape Horn in 1578. 

Pour hundred fifty-two 



AND THE SOUTH SUA 

though they sent some jewels to his lady, which, however, were 
not accepted. Some of the men got ashore here, while Sharp 
and others went on to the island of Nevis, whence they got 
passage to England. Their ship, the Santissima Trinidad, 
which they had found burning at Perico in Panama Bay, was 
left to seven of the company who had gambled away their 
shares. 

Three of Sharp's crew were tried at Jamaica, and one simple 
fellow was wheedled into a confession, and hanged. The other 
two stood it out, and escaped for want of witnesses to prove 
the fact against them. When Captain Bartholomew Sharp 
arrived in England, he and a few others were apprehended at 
the instance of the Spanish ambassador, and tried for piracy 
before a court of admiralty, held at the Marshalsea in South- 
wark. They claimed to have acted under authority from the 
chiefs of Darien, who were independent princes, and not sub- 
ject to Spain; but chiefly for want of evidence, they escaped 
conviction. 

Shortly after this. Captain Sharp, and Basil Ringrose, a 
member of his party, each wrote an account of the voyages 
and adventures of the buccaneers. 

Not caring to serve under Captain Sharp, the minority sep- 
arated from the main body of the buccaneers at the island of 
Plata, or Drake's Island, on the 17th of April, 1681. The 
party consisted of 44 Europeans, 2 Mosquito Indians, i Spanish 
Indian, and 5 Negro slaves (usually not counted) ; making 52 
in all. Among the number were John Cook, afterwards a buc- 
caneer captain ; William Dampier, the ablest of them all ; and 
Lionel Wafer, now the ranking surgeon, who lived four months 
with the Darien Indians. 

This party started off in the long-boat of the "Trinidad" 
and two canoes; being nearly swamped before reaching the 
shore of the mainland. The next day they were lucky enough 
to capture a small vessel under the lee of Cape Pasado, in 
which they embarked. Sailing northward, they stopped at'the 
isle of Gorgona, and escaped in a rainstorm from a couple of 
Spanish cruisers out looking for them. At Point Garachina, 
south of the gulf of San Miguel, they stopped and dried their 
powder, anticipating a fight on landing. April 30th, they en- 
tered the gulf of San Miguel, and anchored outside an island, 
four miles from the mouth of the Santa Maria river. Sending 
a canoe to investigate, a warship was found at the mouth 

Four hundred fifty-three 



THB BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

of the river, and on the bank an encampment of soldiers. Dam- 
pier urged his companions to ascend the Rio Congo, three 
leagues off, but could not persuade them of its existence. 

May 1st, 1 68 1, the buccaneers effected a landing in a small 
creek, a league beyond Cape San Lorenzo. They sank their 
bark, and started in a northeast direction to cross the Isthmus ; 
making the desperate resolve to shoot all stragglers to prevent 
information being extracted from them by torture, in case of 
capture by Spaniards. They soon struck a trail which led tp 
some Indian shacks, where they were well received, and secured 
a guide. The next day they reached the Congo, and came to the 
hut of an old Indian. For several days they journeyed through 
the rain, wading the streams ; with no fires, and scarcely any 
food. 

On the fifth day — being also the 5th of May — Doctor Wafer 
was sitting on the ground near one of the men who was drying 
gunpowder in a silver plate. From the spark of a pipe, accord- 
ing to Dampier's narrative, the powder blew up, and burned 
the doctor's knee and thigh so badly that the flesh was torn 
away, and the bone exposed. He applied such remedies as he 
had in his knapsack, and made shift to jog along for a few days. 
The company assigned him one of the slaves to carry his medi- 
cines ; but on the night of the seventh day, the negroes, all but 
one, ran away, taking Wafer's medicines, gun, and all his 
money. 

On the 8th, the guide said the river would have to be crossed 
again, but was too swollen to ford. George Gayny started 
across with a line about his neck, but the man paying it out 
suddenly stopped, pulling Gayny on his back. The rope-man 
then threw the line in the stream, when the swift torrent bore 
him away; and having 300 pesos at his back, Gayny was 
drowned. They then felled a tall tree across the river and got 
over, and reached an Indian village, where they fared well. 

The loth day the doctor was suffering so much with his 
wound that he decided to take his chances with the Darien 
Indians. Two others of the company, who were played out, 
staid with him; John Hingson, a mariner; and Mr. Richard 
Gopson, who had with him a Greek Testament, which he fre- 
quently read, and translated extempore, into English for his 
comrades. The buccaneers did not execute their order about 
executing stragglers, but took a very kind leave of these men. 
Indeed, two men, Robert Spratlin and William Bowman, hesi- 

Pour hundred fifty-four 



AND THB SOUTH SBA 

tated to attempt to pass the Congo, on the 6th of May, and 
had not been seen since. 

"Being now forced to ftay among them, and having no means 
to alleviate the Anguish of my Wound, the Indians undertook 
to cure me ; and apply'd to my Knee f ome Herbs, which they 
firft chew'd in their Mouths to the confiftency of a Paste, and 
putting it on a Plantain-Leaf, laid it upon the Sore. This 
prov'd so effectual, that in about 20 Days ufe of this Poultefs, 
which they applied frefh every Day, I was perfectly cured; 
except only a Weaknefs in that Knee, which remain'd long 
after, and a Benummednefs which I fometimes find in it to 
this Day." '" 

In three or four days, Spratlin and Bowman dragged them- 
selves into the settlement, very much fatigued with rambling 
through the woods. They told of seeing the corpse of Gayny 
lying on the bank of the river, where the floods had left it. The 
money was still at his back, but they were so exhausted, they 
cared not to meddle with it. Notwithstanding the Indians still 
dressed the wounded knee, they were not very generous to the 
five white men in their midst. They seemed to be concerned 
about the fate of the two guides who went ahead with the main 
party, and threw green plantains to the Englishmen, as they 
sat cringing and shivering, like you would bones to a dog. 
There was one exception to this stern treatment. The young 
Indian at whose house they stopped would often give them food 
on the sly, even rising at night to go by stealth to the Plantain- 
walk to fetch them a bundle of ripe plantains, which he would 
distribute unknown to his countrymen. This kind Indian had 
formerly been a prisoner among the Spaniards, serving under 
the bishop of Panama till finding a chance to escape. He had 
learned considerable Spanish, and with the additional use of 
signs, was able to converse with the buccaneers. 

The guides not returning when expected, the Indians resolved 
to be revenged on the five Englishmen in their power. Some 
were for turning them over to the Spaniards, but the greater 
part hating those people, decided to burn the buccaneers, and 
prepared a great pile of wood for that purpose. Their principal 
chief, Lacenta happened along, and directed two Indians to 
conduct them to the north side of the Isthmus, and find out 
what had become of the guides of the main company. The 
next day, they started out and marched joyfully for three days 
through the mud and rain, lodging at night under the dripping 

'•Lionel Wafer. 

Four hundred fifty-five 



THB BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

trees. The two conductors now departed, and the helpless 
white men wandered about for days, with only a few macaw 
berries to eat. They came to a river over which a tree had 
been felled, and judged, rightly, that their comrades had passed 
over. The tree was so wet and slippery that Bowman" fell off, 
but was washed ashore alive a quarter of a mile below. On the 
evening of the sixth day after leaving the Indians they came to 
where another river""* joined the one they were following; both 
of which ran in a northerly direction, as shown by a pocket 
compass. This confirmed them in the belief that they were on 
the north side of the divide, so they made two "Bark-logs," or 
rafts, on which to float to the North Sea. 

That night, Wafer and his companions camped in the fork of 
the rivers, when "it fell a Raining as if Heaven and Earth 
would meet, which Storm was accompanied with horrid Claps 
of Thunder, and fuch flafhes of Lightning, of a Sulpherous 
fmell, that we were almoft ftifled in the open air." The flood 
covered the hillock on which they were located, and forced 
them to take to the trees to save their lives, each thinking the 
others drowned. With thanksgiving they found each other in 
the morning, and discovered their Bark-logs sunk and full of 
water, though made of "Bamboes." This was a god-send, for 
had they gone down this river, which empties into the Chepo, 
or Bayano, they would have run into the Spaniards. _ 

Not being able to pass either river, the party turned back to 
hunt the Indian village from which they had departed. This 
was the eighth day of their wanderings, with nothing to eat but 
a handful of Maiz, some Macaw-berries, "and the Pith of a 
Bibby-Tree we met with^ which we fplit and eat very favourly." 
When nearly dead with hunger, they espied a deer fast asleep. 
^'But one of our Men putting the Muzzle of his gun clofe to him, 
and the Shot not being wadded, tumbled out, juft before the 
Gun went off, and did the Deer no hurt ; but f tarting up at the 
noife, he took the River and fwam over." The Doctor's par*' 
now took leave of the river, and "After a little Consideration 
what courfe to fteer next, we concluded it beft to follow the 
Track of a Pecary or Wild-Hog, hoping it might bring us to 

^^"This Man had at this time 400 pieces of eight at his Back: He 
was a weakly Man, a Taylor by Trade." — Wafer. 

28 "'j'jjjs i^ft River was as wide and deep as the former ; fo that here 
we were put to a Non-plus, not being able to find means to Ford either 
of them, and they being here too wide for a Tree to go acrofs, unless a 
greater Tree than we were able to cut down ; having no Tool with us 
but a Macheat or long Knife." — Wafer. 

Four hundred fifty-six 



AND THE SOUTH SUA 

fome old Plantain Walk or Potato Piece, which thefe Creatures 
often refort to, to look for Food." The' trail of the peccary 
brought them, according to expectation, to a banana plantation, 
near which was an Indian settlement. In fear, the Doctor went 
forward alone, and found himself in the same village they had 
left eight days before. The Indians crowded about and began 
to ask questions, which Wafer cut short by falling into a swoon, 
occasioned by the heat of the house, and the scent of meat boil- 
ing over the fire. 

The long-expected guides, who had gone with Mr. Dampier"* 
and the main body, had returned from the north coast, loaded 
down with presents ; so the Indians now were very kind and 
generous. After resting seven days, the five white men set out 
again for the North Sea, conducted by four willing and lusty 
natives. When they came to the river over which the tree was 
felled, they turned up stream instead of down ; and soon after- 
wards pursued their journey in a canoe, the Indians paddling 
stoutly against the current. In six days they came to the palace 
of Lacenta, prince over the south side of Darien, who had 
before saved their Hves. His house was situated on a fine 
little hill, in a grove of stately "Cotton Trees," from six to 
eleven feet in diameter. 

"The Circumference of this pleafant little Hill, contains at 
leaft lOO Acres of Land ; and is a Peninfula of an Oval form, 
almoft furrounded with two great Rivers, one coming from the 
Eaft, the other from the Weft, which approaching within 40 
foot of each other, at the front of the Peninsula, feparate again, 
embracing the Hill, and meet on the other fide, making there 
one pretty large River, which runs very swift. There is there- 
fore but one way to come in toward this Seat; which, as I 
before obferved, is not above 40 foot wide, between the Rivers 
on each side ; and 'tis fenced with hollow Bamboes, Popes-heads 

Dampier tells us that after leaving Wafer and his companions, on 
May loth, the main body crossed one river thirty-two times that same 
day. The first night, the last of the five negroes ran away. The buc- 
caneers struggled on through rain and mud; living on plantains, with 
an occasional monkey or bird. May 20th, they came to the river Cheapo, 
thelast that ran into the South Sea. On the 21st, the party ascended 
a high mountain ; and on the 22nd, they went up another high mountain, 
and to their great comfort saw the North Sea. The 23rd day they 
passed in canoes down the river Conception, spending the night in the 
Indian settlement at the mouth of the river. The next day. May 24th, 
the buccaneers went on board a "Barcolongo," a French privateer com- 
manded by Captain Tristian, lying out at La Sound's Key. 

Four hundred fifty-seven 



THB BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA BAY 

and Prickle-pears, fo thick fet from one side the Neck of Land 
to the other, that 'tis impoff ible for an Enemy to approach it." ^ 

The chieftain sent back the guides, and told the Englishmen 
that they would have to stop with him, because the rainy season 
was now at its height, and it was not possible to travel to the 
north coast. They had not been there long before an incident 
occurred which brought Doctor Wafer into great esteem, and 
benefitted his comrades as well. 

"It fo happen'd that one of Lacenta's Wives being indif- 
pofed, was to be let Blood ; which the Indians perform in this 
manner : The Patient is f eated on a Stone in the River and 
one with a fmall bow fhoots little Arrows into the naked Body 
of the Patient, up and down ; shooting them as faft as he can, 
and not miffing any part. But the Arrows are gaged, fo that 
they penetrate no farther than we generally thru ft our Lances : 
And if by chance they hit a Vein which is full of Wind, and 
the Blood fpurts out a little, they will leap and skip about, 
fhewing many Antick Geftures, by way of rejoycing and 
triumph. 

I was by while this was performing on Lacenta's Lady: And 
perceiving their Ignorance, told Lacenta, That if he pleafed, I 
would fhew him a better way, without putting the Patient to 
fo much Torment. Let me fee, fays he ; and at his command, I 
bound up her Arm with a piece of Bark, and with my Lancet 
breathed a Vein : But this rafh attempt had like to have coft me 
my Life. For Lacenta feeing the Blood ififue out in a Stream, 
which us'd to come only drop by drop, got hold of his Lance, 
and fwore by his Tooth, that if fhe did otherwife than well, he 
would have my Heart's Blood. I was not moved, but defired 
him to be patient, and I drew off about 12 Ounces and bound 
up her Arm, and defired fhe might reft till the next Day : By 
which means the Fever abated, and she had not another Fit. 
This gained me fo much Reputation, that Lacenta came to me, 
and before all his Attendants, .bowed, and kifs'd my Hand. 
Then the reft came thick about me, and fome kiffed my Hand, 
others my Knee, and fome my Foot : After which I was taken 
up into a Hammock, and carried on Men's Shoulders, Lacenta 
himself making a Speech in my Praife, and commending me as 
much Superior to any of their Doctors. Thus I was carried 

^ Sefior Don Vicente Restrepo, of Bogota, who has translated Wafer's 
narrative into Spanish, thinks Lacenta's stronghold may have been situ- 
ated at the junction of the Sabalo with the Caiiaza. The Mandingas 
tribe had its headquarters in this region. 

Pour hundred fifty-eight 



|pW '^n- ,^x 




AND THB SOUTH SUA 

from Plantation to Plantation, and lived in great Splendor and 
Repute, adminiftring both Phyfick and Phlebotomy to thofe 
that wanted. For tho' I loft my Salves and Plaifters, when 
the Negro ran away with my Knapfack, yet I preferv'd a Box 
of Inftruments, and a few Medicaments wrapt up in an Oil 
Cloth, by having them in my Pocket, where I generally carried 
them." 

Dr. Wafer became a great favorite among the natives, not 
only from his knowledge of medicine, but also because he read- 
ily adapted himself to their mode of life. He allowed himself 
to be painted, went naked, and wore a golden nose-plate,^ like 
the chiefs. He accompanied Lacenta on his hunting trips ; and 
one time, when toward the southeast part of the country, he 
secretly watched the Spaniards washing out gold from the sands 
of a river, perhaps the Rio Balsas. It became so that the chief 
would go nowhere without the Doctor, and the latter perceived 
that Lacenta intended to keep him alway. One day they started 
a peccary, which held the Indians and their dogs in play the 
greater part of the day, till the chief was weary, and impa- 
tiently wished for some better way of chasing the game. Wafer, 
who now understood a great deal of the Darien language,^'' took 
this opportunity to commend the English dogs, and offered to 
bring him a few from England, if he would suffer him to go 
thither for a short time. 

Lacenta demurred at this for a while, but at length he 
swore by his tooth, laying his fingers on it, that Wafer and his 
companions should have their liberty; provided the Doctor 
promised, and swore by his tooth, to come back, marry the 
chief's daughter, and settle among them. Doctor Wafer pro- 
mised to do so ; and the next day parted from Lacenta in the 
hunting grounds, and with a convoy of natives returned to the 
Chief's palace; where he arrived in about fifteen days, and was 
joyfully greeted by his friends. 

After resting a few days, the five white men started for the 
north coast, having a strong retinue of armed Indians. They 
travelled over many high mountains, and at last came to one far 
surpassing the rest in height, they being four days gradually 

^ Described in Chapter XIX. 

^"My Knowledge of the High-Land Language made me the more 
capable of learning the Darien Indians Language; when I was among 
them. For there is fome Affinity, not in the Signification of the Words 
of each Language, but in the Pronunciation, which I could eafily imi- 
tate; both being fpoken pretty much in the Throat with frequent 
Afpirates, and much the fame fharp or circumflex Tang or Cant." 

Four hundred fifty-nine 



THB BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

ascending it, though with some descents between whiles. This 
mountain was so high that both Europeans and natives experi- 
enced giddiness in the head, and the other mountains they had 
passed seemed far beneath them. The Doctor looked over a 
perpendicular part, while two men sat on his legs, but could 
see nothing but clouds below. At one place they all had to 
straddle over a narrow ridge. 

At the foot of the mountain, on the other side, they came to a 
river that ran into the North Sea. Here were some houses, 
where they stopped for the night, "my Lodging, by the way, 
being in a Hammock made faft to two Trees, and my Covering 
a Plantain-Leaf." The following morning they set forward, 
and in two days time arrived at the seaside; where they were 
welcomed by forty chief Indians,"^ dressed in long white gowns, 
with fringes at the bottom. The Englishmen asked when they 
expected any ships, and the Indians said they would inquire; 
sending for their conjurers or Pazvawers, "who immediately 
went to work to raife the Devil, to inquire of him at what time 
a Ship would arrive here, for they are very expert and skilful 
in their fort of Diabolical Conjurations." They went into a 
house by themselves, beating drums, sounding conch-shells, 
imitating the cries of all kinds of birds and beasts, and uttering 
the most hideous yells and shrieks. 

After a considerable time the oracle declared, "That the loth 
Day from that time there would arrive two Ships ; and that in 
the Morning of the loth Day we fhould hear firft one Gun, 
and fometime after that another: That one of us fhould die 
soon after, and that going aboard we fhould lofe one of our 
Guns: All of which fell out exactly according to the Pre- 
diction." 

On the morning of the tenth day thereafter was heard first 
one gun, and then another; which was the buccaneers' signal 
for the Indians to come aboard. Wafer and his companions, 
with three natives, started out in a canoe ; but as they crossed 
the bar of the river, it overturned, whereby the gun of Mr. 
Gopson'* was lost ; though the buccaneers never went in a canoe 
without lashing their guns to the sides or seats. The party got 
ashore, and set out again, standing over to La Sound's Key, 
where the two ships lay. Wafer relates that they went aboard 
one of the ships, where his four companions were greeted by 

=' Confer their reception of the Scotch visitors, in 1698. 
^ Dampier calls him Richard Cobson. He died three days later, and 
was buried in La Sound's Key. 

Four hundred sixty 



AND THB SOUTH SB A 

their friends; "but I fat a while cringing upon my Hams 
among the Indians, after their Fafhion, painted as they were, 
and all naked but only about the Waift, and with my Nose- 
piece hanging over my Mouth. I was willing to try if they 
would know me in this Dif guif e ; and 'twas the better part of an 
Hour before one of the Crew, looking more narrowly upon me, 
cry'd out, Here's our Doctor, and immediately they all con- 
gratulated my Arrival among them." 

The return of these men by the Isthmus to the North Sea, 
with the arrival of Captain Sharp's party at Barbadoes in the 
following January, terminated what may be called the first 
expedition of the Buccaneers in the South Sea; the boat excur- 
sion by Morgan's men in the Bay of Panama being of too little 
consequence to be so reckoned. They had now made successful 
experiment of the route both by sea and land, and the Spaniards 
in the South Sea had reason to apprehend a speedy renewal of 
their visit. 

The success of the first venture, with the restrictions and 
prohibitions unwisely imposed upon the French and English 
in the West Indies by their home governments, soon led to 
other incursions into the Pacific; either overland across the 
Isthmus, or by sea around South America. During the next 
few years piratical and privateering expeditions, both from the 
West India islands and from Europe, invaded the South Sea; 
harassing Spanish commerce, and plundering the towns near the 
coast. These outfits generally acted independent of each other, 
especially the French and English ; but occasionally they united 
in some large undertaking. 

It is not our intention to write further of the buccaneers, ex- 
cepting certain transactions in the Bay of Panama in the year 
1685, Early in 1684, William Dampier, Lionel Wafer, Edward 
Davis, Ambrose Cowley, and other experienced buccaneers, 
were again in the South Sea, having sailed around the Horn 
in the "Batchelor's Delight," a thirty-six gun ship, commanded 
by Captain John Cook. They soon fell in with the "Nicholas," 
John Eaton commander, which had left the Thames on a pre- 
tended trading voyage. They sailed up the coast together, passed 
Panama without stopping, and entered the gulf of Nicoya; 
where Captain Cook died, and was buried on the shore. Ed- 
ward Davis, the quarter-master, was then unanimously elected 

Poiir hundred sixty-one 



THE BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA BAY 

to the command of the "Bachelor's Delight" ; and the two ships 
separated, though each sailed for Peru. 

At the island Plata, Capt. Davis fell in with the "Cygnet," 
Captain Swan, fitted out from London as a genuine trading 
vessel. Peter Harris, nephew of the Peter Harris killed before 
Panama in 1680, also joined in a small bark. They made some 
unimportant captures, and attempted to surprise Guayaquil, but 
the plan miscarried, though four ships were taken in the bay, 
three of them containing 1000 negroes.^ The little fleet then 
steered northward towards the Gulf of Panama, picking up a 
packet-boat bound for Lima, which the president of Panama 
had despatched to hasten the saiHng of the plate fleet from 
Callao. They put some of their prisoners on shore at Gor- 
gona^° Island, and January 21st, 1685, arrived at the Pearl 
Islands'*', where they lay the ships aground to clean 
them. The buccaneer force, consisting of about 250 men, then 
anchored near Panama; exchanging prisoners, but making no 
demonstration against the city. 

Shortly afterwards, when lying at Taboga, Davis was visited 
by a merchant, who proposed to come off privately at night 
with such goods as the buccaneers desired to buy. They agreed 
to this; but instead of merchandise, his vessel was fitted up 

^ Captains Davis and Swan chose each fifteen slaves, and let the 
vessels go. William Dampier, then virith Davis, entertained different 
views of what should have been done; and anticipated William Pater- 
son in his scheme to displace the Spaniards in Darien. Dampier writes — 
"Never was put into the hands of men a greater opportunity to enrich 
themselves. We had 1000 negroes, all lusty young men and women, 
and we had 200 tons of flour stored up at the Galapagos Islands. With 
these negroes we might have gone and settled at Santa Maria on the 
Isthmus of Darien, and have employed them in getting gold out of the 
mines there. All the Indians living in that neighborhood were mortal 
enemies to the Spaniards; were flushed by successes against them, and 
for several years had been the fast friends of the privateers. Add to 
which, we should have had the North Sea open to us, and in a short 
time should have received assistance from all parts of the West Indies. 
Many thousands of buccaneers from lamaica and the French islands 
would have flocked to us; and we should have been an overmatch for 
all the force the Spaniards could have brought out of Peru against us." 

^*At Gorgona, the Buccaneers observed how the small black monkeys 
secured shell-fish when the tide was out. "Their way was to take up an 
Oyster and lay it upon a Stone, and with another Stone to keep beating 
of it till they had broke the shell to pieces." — Wafer. 

^^ Of these islands, Dampier writes — "Why they are called the Pearl 
Islands I cannot imagine, for I did never see one pearl oyster about 
them, but of other oysters many." 

Four hundred sixfv-tivo 



AND THE SOUTH SUA 

with combustibles as a fire-ship.^ The buccaneers, suspecting 
treachery, cut from their anchors, and escaped the danger. The 
next morning the ships returned, and while striving to recover 
the anchors, were alarmed at the sight of many canoes, filled 
with men, coming from another island toward Taboga. The 
buccaneers weighed, and stood towards them ; when they were 
discovered to be 200 Frenchmen and 80 Englishmen, com- 
manded by Captains Grogniet and L'Escuyer, who had just 
come over the Isthmus by the Darien route. They told of 
another outfit which had crossed over, composed of 180 buc- 
caneers under an Englishman named Townley, who were now 
building canoes in the gulf of San Miguel. Townley's party 
was soon discovered, already in possession of two ships they 
had taken ; and soon afterwards they picked up six more Eng- 
lishmen under William Knight. 

In April, 1685, while at the Pearl Islands, the buccaneers 
were joined by 264 flibustiers, commanded by Jean Rose, Des- 
Marais, and Le Picard ; the last being a veteran who had served 
under L'Olonois and Morgan. With this party came Raveneau 
de Lussan, probably the only Frenchman to leave an account of 
the flibustiers in the South Sea. In addition to the writers 
already mentioned, Ambrose Cowley also kept a journal of 
his adventures. 

The combined English and French forces in the B,ay of 
Panama now numbered nearly 1000 men, and they thought 
seriously of assaulting the city; but learning that a rich treasure 
had been despatched from Lima, they agreed to postpone the 
attempt on Panama, and lay in wait for the plate-fleet. In the 
meantime, they took several prizes, and captured the town of 
Chepo, where was found neither opposition nor plunder. 

The Viceroy of Peru believed his fiota strong enough to risk 
an encounter with the buccaneers ; but ordered the commander 
to try and avoid a meeting until after the treasure should be 
landed. Accordingly, the Spanish admiral, Don Antonio de 
Beas, sailed more westerly until he fell in with the coast of 
Veragua, west of Punta Mala. Afterwards, he entered the 
gulf, keeping close to the west shore, and safely landed the 
treasure at Lavelia.^^ When the buccaneers discovered the 
Spanish fleet, it was laying at anchor before Panama, where it 
was soon reinforced with more seamen hurried over from 

^* Dampier states that this fire-ship was prepared by Captain Bond, a 
deserter from the privateers, then an honored guest in Panama. 
^' Meaning La Villa ; as Los Santos was called in colonial days. 

Four hundred sixty-three 



THB BUCCANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

Porto Bello. Thus strengthened, the Spanish fleet, numbering 
fourteen sail, and much superior in guns and men, started out 
to hunt the buccaneers, whom they found on the 28th of May, 
1685, near the island of Pacheca, the northernmost of the Pearl 
Islands. 

The buccaneer fleet, consisting of ten vessels of different 
sizes was deficient in men and cannon, but sufficient in mus- 
ketry, so it was the policy of Edward Davis to avoid long range 
fighting, and close in quickly for musket fire and boarding. 
About three o'clock in the afternoon, he got the weather-gage of 
the Spaniards, and gave the order to bear down upon them. 
This was the high-water mark of the Buccaneers in the South 
Sea. A voluntary and heterogeneous band of adventurers, 
without a national support, and with only such supplies and 
pay as they themselves could secure, now threatened Spanish 
dominion in these waters ; with a likelihood of controlling the 
Isthmus, and severing Spain's possessions in America. Captain 
Davis had the largest number of trained seamen and fighters 
ever brought together under the Buccaneer flag in the Pacific, 
and had the wind of the enemy. 

He directed Grogniet to board the Spanish vice-admiral, 
while he went against the main division of their fleet. Grogniet 
refused to engage the enemy, and even Swan shortened sail ; 
so that lacking the support of his principal ships, Davis had to 
retire, exchanging a few shots with the vice-admiral. At night, 
the Spanish admiral anchored ; but showed a light on a small 
vessel, which he sent to leeward. This the buccaneers followed, 
and in the morning found themselves to leeward of the flota, 
which now bore down upon them. Deeming it imprudent to 
fight under these disadvantages, the buccaneers did not wait 
for them. Townley, being hard pressed, escaped through a 
narrow passage between some islets on the south side of 
Pacheca. Davis and Swan, who had the fastest sailers, held 
back to delay the Spaniards; who declined to board, but held 
off and used their big guns.^ There was some fine seamanship 
displayed, but very little fighting; for after a circuitous chase, 
lasting all day, the buccaneers anchored by Pacheca, nearly in 
the same spot from which they had started in the morning. 
The next day, the Spanish fleet was seen at anchor three leagues 
to leeward. When the wind freshened a littfe at ten o'clock, 
the Spaniards took up their anchors; but instead of making 
towards the buccaneers, they sailed away to Panama. Davis 
knew by the Spanish fleet coming from Panama that the trea- 

Fotir hundred sixty-four 



AND THB SOUTH SUA 

sure must have been landed, and he could have little motive 
for urging the fight ; but it was the duty of the Spanish admiral, 
at all hazards, to at least attempt to destroy the enemies of his 
country, and strike such terror into them as would discourage 
others from invading the South Sea. 

On the ist of June, 1685, the buccaneer fleet sailed from the 
Bay of Panama for the island Ouibo.'" Dissatisfaction at the 
outcome of their operations at Panama led to dissensions, and 
the short-lived confederacy resolved into its elements. During 
July, 341 French flibustiers (or privateers, as war then existed 
between France and Spain) separated from the English under 
Davis, and went off under Captain Francois Grogniet. They 
took Pueblo Nuevo, Ria Lexa, Nicoya and other places ; and in 
January, 1686, ascended a river between Quibo and Point 
Burica, and surprised Chiriquita [David]. Later, they united 
with Captain Townley; and on April loth, 1686, captured 
Granada, firing the houses. 

On the 20th of July, 1685, Edward Davis, with all the Eng- 
lish, and fourteen French under Jean Rose, departed from 
Quibo and sailed to the northwest. In August they possessed 
the city of Leon without resistance, which they plundered; and 
on the 14th set fire to the place and returned to the coast. No 
expedition of magnitude being in view, the English divided; 
Captain Swan saluting Davis with 15 guns, and Captain Davis 
saluting Swan with 11 guns. 

Captain Swan, in the "Cygnet," sailed up towards the gulf 
of California. On February 19th, 1686, at Santa Pecaque,^ 
Mexico, he lost a lot of men, Basil Ringrose among the number. 

** Dampier, who was in Davis' ship, says — "The Spanish admiral and 
the rest of his squadron began to play at us and we at them as fast as 
we could : yet they kept at distant cannonading. The'y might have laid 
us aboard if they would, but they came not within Small-arms' shot, 
intending to maul us in pieces with their great guns." 

*^ Two buccaneers were killed by serpents at Quibo. Lussan writes : 
"Here are serpents whose bite is so venomous that speedy death inevit- 
ably ensues, unless the patient can have immediate recourse to a certain 
fruit, which must be chewed and applied to the part bitten. The tree 
which bears this fruit grows here and in other parts of America. It 
resembles the almond-tree in France in height and in its leaves. The 
fruit is like the sea-chestnut (Chataines de Mer) but is of a grey 
colour, rather bitter in taste, and contains in its middle a whitish 
almond. The whole is to be chewed together before it is applied. It is 
called Graine a Serpent, the serpent berry." 

^ Swan lost 54 Englishmen, and 9 negroes ; the greatest calamity suf- 
fered by the Buccaneers in the South Sea, excepting the 100 killed under 
Morgan at Old Panama. 

Four hundred sixty-five 



THE BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA BAY 

March 31st, 1686, Captain Swan started across the Pacific, 
having on board William Dampier. The first land they touched 
was Guahan (Guam), and afterwards they went to Mindanao 
in the Philippine group. 

Captain Townley returned to the Bay of Panama, and took 
and burnt Lavelia [La Villa], securing some of the treasure 
landed there by the Spanish flota more than a year before. 
August 22nd, 1686, Townley, in command of English and 
French buccaneers, was lying at Tahoga, when they were 
attacked by three Spanish vessels armed with cannon. One 
of the Spanish ships blew up, when the other two were taken, 
as well as a fourth which arrived from Panama as a reinforce- 
ment. The buccaneer loss was only one killed, and twenty-two 
wounded, including Captain Townley. Townley sent a mes- 
senger to the President of Panama, Don Pedro Ponte y Llerena, 
Count of Palmar, demanding supplies, the release of five buc- 
caneers held prisoners, and ransom for his numerous captives. 
The President sent only some medicines ; when the buccaneer 
chief dispatched a second message, threatening to send the 
President the heads of all his Spanish prisoners if his demands 
were not acceded to. The President paid little attention to this 
threat; but on receiving the heads^" of twenty Spaniards, he 
hastened to release the five buccaneers, and pay a ransom for 
the remaining men. On September Qth, Captain Townley 
died of the wound he received in the battle at Taboga. 

August 27th, 1685, Captain Davis parted from Swan at Ria 
Lexa [Realejo] ; sailing with the vessels of Knight, and Harris, 
and a tender which with his own ship, the "Bachelor's Delight," 
made four in all. Above 130 of the men fell ill of a spotted 
fever, attributed to the unwholesome air or bad water at Ria 
Lexa**; in consequence of which Davis sailed to Amapalla 
Bay; where they built huts on one of the islands for the sick, 
who were attended by the surgeon, Lionel Wafer. While here, 
they went to the mainland to seek food at a "Beef-Eftantion" 
(estancia) ; where the Doctor investigated a river of hot water 
which issued out from under a hill. After many had died of 
the fever, the disease abated ; and the fleet sailed south to Cocos 

^ "Ce moyen etoit a la verite un pen violent, mais c'etoit I'unique pour 
mettre les Espagnols a la raison." — "Journal dii Voyage au Mer du 
Sud," par Raveneau de Lussan. 

** The rarity of disease among the Buccaneers has already been 
remarked. 



Four hundred sixty-six 



AND THB SOUTH SBA 

Island, where were plenty of coconuts/^ as the name would indi- 
cate. Peter Harris departed from here for the East Indies. 

Davis cruised off the coast of Peru for some time, taking 
prizes and raiding the towns. When in possession of Payta he 
intercepted a courier with a message from the governor of 
Guayaquil to the viceroy at Lima, informing him that Guaya- 
quil was in the hands of the buccaneers, and that he should 
hasten warships to the place. Captain Davis immediately hur- 
ried to the aid of his brethern, and on May 14th, 1687, arrived 
in the Bay of Guayaquil; finding the French under Grogniet, 
and the English under George Hout (who had succeeded Town- 
ley) masters of the town. Captain Grogniet was mortally 
wounded in the fight, and Le Picard was chosen chief of the 
flibustiers. A large amount of money was included in the 
booty, besides jewels, church-plate, and merchandise. Davis 
came up just in time to help fight the Spanish frigates, and 
save the plunder, so shared in the distribution of the spoils. 

All hands now had sufficient wealth to think of returning to 
the West Indies. While the Spaniards had failed to suppress 
the buccaneers in the South Sea, they had succeeded in making 
a treaty with the Darien Indians ; in consequence of which the 
Isthmian route was no longer open to the buccaneers. Davis 
had a stout ship, and proposed to go back by sea; being joined 
by most of the English. No other vessel in their possession was 
strong enough for this undertaking; so all the Erench, with 
many of the English, sailed north to the Bay of Amapalla. 
Here the party destroyed their vessels, and on the ist of Janu- 
ary, 1688, landed on the mainland, dividing into four com- 
panies of seventy men each. After stealing sixty-eight horses, 
they "said their Prayers," and started across the continent on 
the 2nd, loaded down with silver and plunder. The people 
offered but little opposition, and on January nth the bucca- 
neers entered Segovia, finding it deserted and cleared of provi- 
sions. 

January 17th, they came to Wank river, which they descended 

*^After telling of the excellent fresh water, and a delightful water-fall, 
at Cocos Island, Wafer writes, — "One day, some of our men being 
minded to make themselves merry went ashore and cut down a great 
many cocoa-nut trees, from which they gathered the fruit, and drew 
about twenty gallons of the milk. They then sat down and drank 
healths to the king and queen, and drank an excessive quantity; yet it 
did not end in drunkenness : but this liquor so chilled and benumb'd 
their nerves that they could neither go nor stand. Nor could they 
return on board without the help of those who had not been partakers 
of the frolic, nor did they recover under four or five days' time." 

Four hundred sixty-seven 



THE BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA BAY 

on rafts to the Caribbean Sea, which they entered to the south 
of Cape Gracias a Dios. The English remained for a time with 
their friends, the Mosquito Indians ; but the French dispersed. 
About seventy-five went to Jamaica, and were imprisoned by 
the governor, the Duke of Albermarle. The following year, on 
the death of the duke, they were released; but neither their 
arms nor plunder were restored to them. 

From Guayaquil, Captain Davis sailed again to the Gala- 
pagos, and Juan Fernandez ; refitting and careening his ship for 
the homeward voyage. Sailing southward, he passed around 
the Horn without seeing land, but encountered so many ice 
islands that Davis ran far to the east before steering north- 
ward. The party reached the West Indies in the spring of 
1688; at a time when the king of England had issued a pardon 
to all buccaneers who would abandon their calling. 

The English governors refused longer to countenance the 
buccaneers, and piracy became unprofitable as well as illegal. 
Following the accession of William III. to the crown of Great 
Britain, England joined Spain in war against the French. This 
divided the French and English buccaneers, who united with 
the regular troops on either side, and they never afterwards 
confederated in any buccaneer enterprise. In the West Indies, 
the French attacked the English part of St. Christopher (the 
site of their original settlements) and drove the inhabitants 
over to Nevis. The next year, the English returned and took 
St. Christopher from the French. At this time, the French 
flibustiers stole so many negroes from the English in Jamaica, 
that in derision they called that island "Little Guinea." 

The French became alarmed at the number of habitans, or 
settlers, leaving Saint Domingue and other colonies in the West 
Indies, and relaxed in her prohibitions, and in severity towards 
the flibustiers. 

The last large buccaneering undertaking was the capture and 
sack of Cartagena, in 1697, by a force of French regulars, 
under the Baron de Pointis; efifectively aided by about 1200 
flibustiers, settlers, and negroes, headed by M. du Casse, gover- 
nor of the French colonies in Hispaniola. On May 3rd, the city 
capitulated, when M. de Pointis stationed the French bucca- 
neers outside the walls, while he and his officers gathered in the 
treasure, amounting to from 20,000,000 to 40,000,000 livres. 
The last of the month, he sailed away with his regular arma- 
ment; leaving a paltry 40,000 crowns to the flibustiers. The 

Four hundred sixty-eight 



AND THE SOUTH SUA 

latter, who had already embarked, returned to the unfortunate 
city, and extracted nearly 5,000,000 livres more from the 
miserable inhabitants. On the way back towards Hispaniola, 
the flibustiers encountered the combined English and Dutch 
fleets, from which De Pointis had just escaped by superior sail- 
ing. Two of the buccaneer ships were taken; two driven on 
shore, the crew of one being captured by the Spaniards ; while 
the five others managed to reach Isle a Vache in safety. 

In September, 1697, the treaty signed at Ryswick put an end, 
for a time, to war between the rival nations in the West Indies, 
With no headquarters, and no ports open to them wherein to riot 
and dispose of their plunder, the loose association of sea-rovers 
known as "Buccaneers" ceased to exist. "Their distinctive 
mark, which they undeviatingly preserved for nearly two cen- 
turies, was their waging constant war against the Spaniards, 
and against them only."" Many followed the sea as legitimate 
mariners, or settled down as honest planters among the islands. 
Some still sailed about the world for booty ; a few going to the 
Bahamas, making Providence Island" their home, there to 
propagate a breed of common pirates to scourge the seas during 
the next century. Several of the old flibustiers located among 
the Darien Indians, who had resumed their hostility to the 
Spaniards on the Isthmus. We read that in 1702 a party of 
Englishmen, having commissions from the governor of Jamaica, 
landed in Darien ; where they were joined by the old buccaneers 
who had married natives, and also by three hundred Indians. 
They drove the Spaniards from some mines, and captured 
seventy negroes ; whom they kept at work twenty-one days, and 
obtained about eighty pounds of gold.** 

** Captain Burney. 

*' Called New Providence to distinguish it from the island of Old 
Providence (Santa Catarina). A saying arose in the West Indies that 
"shipwrecks and pirates were the only hopes of the island of Provi- 
dence." 

*^ In the account of this expedition by Nathaniel Davis, he relates that, 
in the year 1702, Col. Peter Beckford, Lieut-Governor of Jamaica, 
granted commissions to the captains of four sloops "to go a Privateer- 
ing" against the French and Spaniards. On the 24th July, they sailed 
from Jamaica, and_ spon came to the "Samballoes-Keys," off Darien, 
where they were joined by other ships. Don Pedro, King of the 
Indians, treated with the privateers, and promised to furnish 300 
Indians, and guide them through the woods up to the Mines. The 482 
Englishmen disembarked up a river at the Barkadeers, or landing-place, 
on the 19th of August. The usual hard hiking followed, and some 
Spanish scouts were killed. 

"This day" [August 29th] "we marched over the highest of all the 

Four hundred sixty -nine 



THE BUCC ANBBRS IN PANAMA BAY 

"In the history of so much robbery and outrage the rapacity 
shown in some instance by the European governments in their 
West-India transactions, and by governors of their appoint- 
ment, appears in a worse Hght than that of the buccaneers, 
from whom, they being professed ruffians, nothing better was 
expected. The superior attainments of Europeans, though 
they have done much towards their own civiHzation, chiefly 
in humanising their institutions, have, in their deaHngs with the 
inhabitants of the rest of the globe, with few exceptions, been 
made the instruments of usurpation and extortion."" 

Mountains, and fuch a one as I thought Man could not be able to get 
up : I do really believe it could not be lef s than f even or eight miles 
high. Some of our Men imagined it to be within a Stone's caft oT 
Heaven, and would willingly have tarry'd there, especially being much 
wearied with the Fatigue they underwent, and fuppofing they should 
never come again fo near the blifsful Region." 

On the 30th, the English and Dariens took Cana, a town of 900 houses, 
with one church. Most of the Spaniards had fled with their wealth. 
The privateers worked the mines for a week with the negro captives and 
departed on September 7th, after firing the town. Chief Pedro killed the 
old padre with a stone before leaving. The native allies were not so 
attentive on the way back, and the white men suffered much from lack 
of food and from sleeping in the rain. September i8th, the privateers 
were back at the Barkadeers [embarcadero, doubtless]. 

" Captain Burney. 

When in Golfo Dulce, in June, 1681, a prisoner talcen in the Gulf of 
Nicoya told the Buccaneers of the Stratagem of War by means of which 
the Spaniards had forced a Peace upon the Indians of the Province of 
Darien. 

"The Manner was as follows. A certain Frenchman, who ran from 
us, at the If land of Tahoga, to the Spaniards, was fent by them in a 
Ship to the River's Mouth, which emptieth itfelf from that Province 
into the South Sea. Being arrived there, he went afhore by himself in 
a Canoe, and told the Indians, that the English who had paffed that Way, 
were come back from their Adventures in the South Sea. Withal he 
afked them, if they would not be fo kind and friendly to the English- 
men, as to come aboard and conduct them on Shore? The poor 
deceived Indians were very joyful to underftand this good News; and 
thus forty of the Chiefest of them went on board the Spanish Veffel, 
and were immediately carried Prifoners of War to Panama. Here they 
were forced to conclude a Peace, though' upon Terms very difadvanta- 
geous to them, before they could obtain their Liberty." 

Boucaniers of America — vol 2, p. 56. 



Four hundred seventy 




O 

m 

Q 



3 ° 

o <-> 






^ 3 



bo 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE DARIEN COLONY. 



'You are going to have the fever, 

Yellow eyes ! 
In about ten days from now 
Iron bands will clamp your brow ; 
Your tongue resemble curdled cream, 
A rusty streak the centre seam ; 
Your mouth will taste of untold things, 
With claws and horns and fins and wings ; 
Your head will weigh a ton or more, 
And forty gales within it roar ! 

In about ten days from now. 
Make to health a parting bow ; 
For you're going to have the fever. 

Yellow eyes !" 

James Stanley Gilbert. 

*F THE many attempts by white men to settle 
within the tropics, none has been more quickly 
fatal, nor attended with greater disasters, than 
the project of the people of Scotland to estab- 
lish a colony in Darien. 

Soon after Spain acquired most of the 
Americas, other nations endeavored to secure 
for themselves either the trade, or a part of 
her possessions, in the New World. When 
foreign ships succeeded in penetrating the 
exclusiveness with which Spain surrounded 
her American colonies, and returned to 
Europe with the rich spoils of the West Indies, commercial 
companies sprang up to exploit the trade of those regions. It 
remained for William Paterson, a Scotchman, to formulate a 
plan for traffic and conquest that, for audacity and comprehen- 
siveness, outshines any other scheme that has ever been pro- 
jected by a private individual. Under the guise of planting a 
colony on the lands of the Darien Indians, it was no less than a 
filibustering expedition, and religious crusade,^ into the Ameri- 

^ The intentions of the Darien Company are well expressed by Philo- 
Caledonius (Archibald Foyer) on the title-page of his brochure — 
"Scotland's present duty; or a call to the nobility, gentry, ministry, and 
commonalty of this land, to be duely affected with, and vigorously to 
act for, our common concern in Caledonia, as a means to enlarge Christ's 
kingdom, to benefit our selves, and to do good to all Protestant 
churches." Printed in 1700. 

Pour hundred seventy-one 




THB DARIBN COLONY 

can provinces of Catholic Spain ; with the intention to secure 
possession of the Isthmus of America, fortify the ports, hold 
the passes over the cordillera, and control commerce between 
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 

William Paterson, founder of the Bank of England, and 
instigator of the Darien Colony, was born about April, 1658, in 
Scotland. He was the son of farmer John Paterson and Eliza- 
beth his wife, of Skipmyre, in Dumfriesshire. At an early age, 
William Paterson left home and went to Bristol, where he 
resided with a kinswoman of his mother. After visiting Am- 
sterdam, in Holland, Paterson sailed to the West Indies ; where 
he became, they say, a merchant, a missionary, and a buccaneer. 
He may have been all of these, as, in those days, there was 
nothing inconsistent in being a Protestant missionary and rob- 
bing Spain at the same time. Either as a trader, or from per- 
sonal^ observation, or from William Dampier, Lionel Wafer, 
and other buccaneers, Paterson acquired some information 
about the Isthmus, and the richness and possibilities of com- 
merce in the South Sea. 

Having accumulated a moderate fortune, Paterson returned 
to Europe with a brilliant and dazzling Scheme simmering in 
his head. The recent exploits of the Buccaneers were on every 
tongue, and the gifted financier^ appreciated fully the wealth of 
the New World, and was quick to grasp the advantages held 
by Spain in her possession of the only passes across the conti- 
nent of America, and of the ports on both seas leading thereto. 
As expressed later, in his Memorial* to the King, Paterson 
resented the arbitrary division of the world between Portugal 
and Spain, and their monopoly of the trade of the East and 
West Indies. In the treaty of Ryswick, just made between the 
Bourbon kings of France and Spain, he saw additional reasons 
for Great Britain to secure the command of the seas, and of the 
American ports and passes ; which would give her the umpirage 
of the world. 

^ It is stated that Paterson made excursions over the Isthmus, but 
he could not have traveled very far, if what Dalrymple makes him 
say is true : — "The hills are clothed with tall trees without any under- 
wood, so that one may gallop conveniently among them many miles, 
free from sun and rain, tinless of a great continuance." 

^ "He was a great authority upon trade and upon finance ; an eminent 
political economist ; a practical statesman ; and a sagacious colonial 
projector: — a powerful writer, a true patriot, and a thoroughly honest 
man." — S. Bannister. 

* Generally called Paterson's "Central America." — "On free trade it 
anticipates the logic of Adam Smith and the legislation of our day: 

Four hundred seventy-two 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

"Thus these doors of the seas, and the keys of the universe, 
would, of course, be capable of enabling their possessors to give 
laws to both oceans, and to become the arbitrators of the com- 
mercial world, without being liable to the fatigues, expenses, 
and dangers, or of contracting such guilt and! blood as 
Alexander and Csesar." 

England would be the centre country, and London the centre 
city. "Trade will increase trade, and money will beget money, 
and the trading world shall need no more to want work for 
their hands, but will rather want hands for their work," Pater- 
son then describes the interoceanic routes, or passes, over the 
American continent, which I tabulate as follows : 

Pass of Magellan, or Cape Horn. 
La Plata. 
Uraba, "usually called by the natives Cacarico or 

Paya." 
Tubugantee. 
Conception, "near forty leagues to the eastward of 

Chagre." 
Chagre. 
Nicaragua. 
Vera Cruz — Acapulco. 

"These ports and passes, being possessed and fortified may 
be easily secured and defended by eight or ten thousand men 
against any force, not only there already, but that can possibly 
be found in those places which are not only the most con- 
venient doors and inlets into, but likewise the readiest and 
securest means, first of gaining, and afterwards for ever keep- 
ing, the command of the spacious South Sea, which, as hath 
been already said, as it is the greatest, so even, by what thereof 
we already know, it is by far the richest side of the world. 

in policy it advises what Milton eflfected with the pen, — Cromwell and 
Chatham with the sword, — Canning and Lord Palmerston with peaceful 
diplomacy, — to defend in America the liberties of Europe, still looking 
westward in our day, in a new and perilous crisis of social progress. It 
even foreshadows for Central America, as a great highway of com- 
merce, the neutrality provided by our late treaty'' with the Uniteld 
States; and the information it contains from actual inspection of a 
country little known even now, will assist in carrying out the greatest 
work of our time, a ship passage to the Pacific." 

S. Bannister, 1857. 

"The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, of 1850; an inexcusable and humiliat- 
ing blunder in our diplomacy. 

Pour hundred seventy-three 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

Those ports, so settled with passes open, through them will flow 
at least two-thirds of what both Indies yield to Christiandom, 
the sum whereof in gold, silver, copper, spices, saltpetre, 
pearls, emeralds, stones of value, and such like, will hardly 
amount to less than 30 millions of pounds sterling yearly. The 
time and expense of the voyage to China, Japan, and the richest 
part of the East Indies, will be lessened more than a half, and 
the consumption of European commodities soon be more than 
doubled, and afterwards yearly increased." ***** 
"First, That after having possessed ourselves of these doors 
of what the Spanish use to proudly call their king's summer 
chambers, or more properly speaking, the keys of the Indies and 
doors of the world, the passes between the seas and of the 
Gulf of Florida,' we endeavour to secure the same to posterity 
by breaking to pieces those unheard of prohibitions and exclu- 
sions in all those places of the world." 

The most important region, in Paterson's opinion, was the 
Isthmus of America, which he reckoned to extend from the 
Gulf of Uraba on the east to the river of Chagre on the west. 
Paterson proposed to fortify the Isthmus, and Havannah; 
replace the old, decrepid, and decayed government of Spain ; 
free the Indians from the Spaniards, and the Spaniards from 
their priests; establish free trade; and permit liberty of con- 
science — according to the Scotch idea of what constituted 
liberty. 

Paterson believed the best pass across the Isthmus was the 
one he calls Tubugantee, through the lands of the friendly 
Darien Indians ; from Caledonia Bay on the Caribbean, south 
to the Gulf of San Miguel (which he calls "Gulf of Ballona"). 

"From this harbor on the north, which is very convenient and 
defensible, they have but seven short French leagues of good, 
or at least easily capable of being made good, way to a place 
called Swattee; and from Swattee to the navigable part of the 
river of Tubugantee there is about two leagues more, the which, 
by reason of a steep hill and the frequent occasion there is 
of passing and repassing a river, is at present troublesome 
enough ; but that two leagues might likewise easily be made 
good and passable by an industrious hand." 

Arrived in Europe, Paterson offered his plan to Frederick 

* Paterson outdid the Pope — the latter donated unknown lands to 
Portugal and Spain ; the former wanted the entire earth and the fulness 
thereof for his company. 

'Gulf of Mexico. 

Four hundred seventy-four 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

William, Elector of Brandenberg ; and to the cities of Embden 
and Bremen ; but with no result. He favored the Revolution of 
1688, and frequented the coffee-houses of Amsterdam. Fater- 
son returned to England, and settled in London as a merchant; 
becoming prominent in financial circles. In 1691, with Michael 
Godfrey and others, he was the chief projector of the Bank ot 
England. In 1695, owing to differences with his colleagues, 
Paterson voluntarily withdrew from the bank, sellmg his quali- 
fication of 2000 pounds. He then went to Scotland and was 
introduced by Andrew Fletcher, ofSaltoun, to the leaders of 
the government, whom he told of his scheme. 

At this time, Scotland was recovering from the politjcal 
and religious disturbances incident to the Revolution of 1688, 
and seeking an opportunity for commercial expansion, ihe 
Scottish Parliament, in 1693, had passed an Act for Encourag- 
ing Trade "v/ith any country not at war with their majesties — 
to the East and West Indies, the Straits and Mediterranean, 
Africa and the northern parts. This paved the way for Pater- 
son, and he found the people eager for speculation, and recep- 
tive to his scheme. 

On the 26th of June, 1695, Scotland enacted an act 
creating "The Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the 
Indies" '—occasionally referred to as the African Company ; but 
generally known as the 'Darien Company.' The same day, it 
was approved by the King's commissioner, the Marquis ot 
Tweeddale, and became a law. The Company was_ given 
monopoly in Scotland of the trade with Asia, Africa, or 
America, for 31 years ; and freedom from taxation for 21 years 
The Company was authorized to take possession of uninhabited 
territories in any part of Asia, Africa, or America ; or m any 
other place by consent of the natives, if not possessed by any 
European sovereign ; and there to plant colonies, found towns, 
build ships of war, make reprisals, and defend her trade by 
force of arms. The Company could make and conclude treaties, 
and indeed, perform all the functions of a sovereign state; 
more in fact, than Scotland herself possessed. In token of 
allegiance, the Company was to pay yearly to his Majesty, if 
required, "a Hogshead of Tobacco, in Name of Blench Duty. 

« Paterson framed the first draft of the Act establishing the 
Company. The Company agreed to give him 12,000 pounds, and 
V percent, of the profits for 21 'years; or an additional 12,000 pounds 
After the union of England and Scotland, Parliament, m 1715, voted 
Paterson 18,000 pounds to reimburse him for his losses, and m appre- 
ciation of his services to the state. 

Four hundred seventy-five 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

The Scotch were envious of England's lucrative Colonial 
trade, resented the monopoly exercised by the East India Com- 
pany of London, and gave up their money freely. The scheme 
appealed particularly to the ladies, and doctors of medicine — 
probably because they have less financial sense than other mem- 
bers of society. Anne, Duchess of Hamilton and Chastlerault, 
headed the Edinburg list ; Provost Anderson the Glasgow sub- 
scribers, and Paterson, himself, the London subscriptions ; each 
for the maximum amount of 3000 pounds. In addition to the 
large number of individual subscribers," nearly every town and 
borough in Scotland took shares, so that it was a thoroughly 
national enterprise." 

Very soon after the formation of the "Darien Company," 
the East India Company bitterly opposed it ; London and Hol- 
land withdrew their subscriptions ; Spain saw danger in it, and 
protested; and William III. weakened and announced that he 
had been ill-advised in the matter. The English parliament 
even impeached some of its members for joining in a scheme 
so injurious to English trade. The Company started to do a' 
banking business, and issued banknotes^; which excited the 
hostility of the Bank of Scotland, which held a monopoly under 
the law. 

■ In spite of all this opposition, the Scots, who at this time were 
separate from England, went ahead with their project. One 
of the first moves of the Company, August 22nd, 1696, was 

* "The people of Scotland," says Bishop Burnett, "lost almost 200,000 
pounds sterling upon the project, besides all the imaginary treasure they 
had promised themselves from it." 

The stock of the Company was unlimited. The amount subscribed 
was never all paid in, and many persons who eagerly put down their 
names, had to be sued for the money. J. S. Barbour states that the 
actual cash paid up by subscribers in respect of calls was £153,448, 5s, 
42-3d., along with £65,646, 3s, 2 2-3d. of overdue interest. The loss in 
principal and interest amounted to £219,094, 8s 7j4d. 

However, one of the last acts of the Scotish Parliament, March 25, 
1707, was to appropriate funds to reimburse the Darien subscribers for 
their losses. 

" "From the Pentland Firth to the Solway, every one who had a hun- 
dred pounds was impatient to put down his name" — Macaulay, "History 
of England." 

" They also issued coins bearing the Company's crest, "the sun rising 
out of the sea," under the bust of King William. These were minted 
from gold-dust brought back by the "African Merchant," Captain Bell, 
which the Company sent to the gold coast of Africa, in 1699. The 
coins, called pistoles and half-pistoles, bear the date of 1701 ; and were 
the last gold coins made by the Scotch mint. 



Pour hundred seventy-six 



THB DARIHN COLONY 

to instruct John Munro, Doctor of Medicine, along with four 
Chirurgeon— Apothecaries, to prepare "Proper Medicaments" 
sufficient to last 1500 men for two years. He employed gun- 
smiths at making pistols at 17 or 18 shillings a pair, and bought 
"a bargain of Bibles and Catechisms" from the widow of An- 
drew Anderson, printer. From Jeromie Robertson, he secured 
"Campaign Wigs and Bobb Wigs"; and also ascertained the 
cheapest price of beef and cod-fish. Beef, pork, biscuit, vine- 
gar, brandy, and other stores were accumulated in the Com- 
pany's warehouse in Miln Square, Edinburgh. 

The English were forbidden to supply ships or sailors, so the 
Company was forced to go to Amsterdam and Hamburg for 
vessels and stores. The business of the Company was badly 
managed, and one of the agents absconded with 8000 pounds. 
November 20th, 1697, three ships arrived in Leith Roads from 
Holland, and wintered up the Firth. On the 12th of March, 
1698, the Directors announced that they were ready, and called 
for volunteers, to be indentured for three years, and main- 
tained by the Company. "Everyone who goes on the first 
Equipage shall Receive and Possess Fifty Acres of Plantable 
Land and 50 Foot Square of ground at least in the Chief City 
or Town, and an ordinary House built thereupon by the Colony 
at the end of 3 years." Modern land-boomers have nothing 
over the old seventeenth century promoters. 

The people were wild for the scheme, and a famine in Scot- 
land helped to swell the number of volunteers. Fully 1200 
colonists were selected ; 300 of whom were designated as Gen- 
tlemen-Volunteers. Among the colonists were many soldiers, 
just returned from the war in Flanders, thrown out of employ- 
ment by the Peace of Ryswick; 60 ex-officers enlisted as 
"Overseers," and "Sub-Overseers ;" and the soldiers who had 
served under them, as "Planters." 

On July 8th, 1698, the Directors of the Company appointed 
a Council for the proposed Colony, consisting of seven men; 
viz. — Major James Cunningham of Eickett, Mr. James Mont- 
gomery, Mr. Daniel Mackay, Capt. Robert Jolly, Capt Robert 
Pennicuik, Capt. William Vetch, Capt. Robert Pinkarton. Some 
of these were also captains of the ships; and "not one fit for 
government," so Paterson wrote. 

The first expedition of the Darien Colony sailed from Leith 



Four hundred seventy-seven 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

on the 26th of July, 1698. "Twelve hundred men sailed in five 
stout ships," says Sir John Dairy mple. 

1. The St. Andrew — Captain Robert Pennicuik. 

2. The Unicorn — Captain Robert Pinkerton. 

3. The Caledonia — Captain Robert Drummond. 

4. The Endeavour (Pink) ) ata , , 1 i- 

^ ^, r^ 7 . 7 • / o ^ r Tenders and supply ships. 

5. The Dolphin (Snow) \ i f j t- 

The first three vessels'" were heavily armed. It was a day 
of rejoicing and celebration in Scotland, and guards were re- 
quired to keep unauthorized persons from going on the expe- 
dition. A number succeeded in stowing themselves away on 
the ships." 

Strange to say, Paterson had not been made a councillor or 
other official, nevertheless he took an active part in the prepara- 
tions, and went along with the colonists. Mrs. Paterson, her 
maid, and a few more women, accompanied the party. Trouble 
beset the colony from the start. The supplies had not been 
inspected before sailing, as urged by Paterson, and the bread 
was found to be made of "damnified" wheat. Other provisions 
were also spoiled and defective; and, in a few days, all hands 
were put on short rations. 

The fleet was directed to sail to Madeira, and there open the 
sailing orders. They landed at this place on August 29th, 
where the Council purchased 27 pipes of wine, an,d the officers 
and gentlemen-volunteers exchanged their scarlet coats, swords, 
and finery for something to eat. The Council now assumed 
authority to make Paterson a councillor, in place of Captain 
William Veitch, who was prevented from sailing with the 
colony. Here the first sailing orders were opened; which 
directed the fleet to go to Crab Island, east of Porto Rico. 
September 2nd, the Scots weighed anchor from Madeira roads, 
exchanging salutes with the shore. On the loth, they crossed 



^ "St. Andrew, our first Tutelar was he. 
The Unicorn must next supporter be, 
The Caledonia doth bring up the rear 
Fraught with brave hardy lads devoid of fear; 
All splendidly equipt, and to the three 
The Endeavour and the Dolphin handmaids be." 

(Caledonia Triumphans). 

^' History is but a repetition of the acts of men under different nanies 
and amid new scenes. The departure of the Caledonians from Leith 
reminds one of the sailing of Columbus on his second voyage. A 
crowd of ignorant people, hungry for death, seeking they knew not 
what; but hoping to better their condition, even though it be at the 
expense of their fellow creatures. The bait, too, was the same — gold. 

Four hundred seventy-eight 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

the Tropic of Cancer, with the usual ceremony of ducking some 
of the crew three times from the main yard, "which was pretty 
good sport." On the 29th died Walter Johnson, Chirurgeon's 
Mate. "He contracted a fever, and got his hands on laudanum 
liquidum, and took too large a dose, and so he slept till death." " 

October 2nd, Captain Pinkertoun^' in the Unicom, with the 
Snow, and Mr. Paterson, went to the Island of St. Thomas, 
a free port of the Danes, to secure pilots for the Main. They 
returned with Captain Aletson (Allison), one of the oldest 
Privateers then living. He was with the Buccaneers when 
they crossed the Isthmus in 1680 for the South Sea; and along 
with Captain Macket and 33 men, was left behind at Golden 
Island to guard the seven vessels. On the 3rd, they went 
ashore on Crab Island, and took possession in the name of the 
Company. The Danes protested, as a matter of form, really 
wishing they would settle there. Here the ships took in water, 
which caused a flux among the colonists. They washed the 
vessels with vinegar, and used smoke, to stop the spread of the 
disease. 

At Crab Island the second sailing orders were opened, and 
found to contain instructions to proceed to Golden Island in the 
Bay of Ada, near the Gulf of Darien. Oct. 23rd. one of the 
ministers, Mr. Thomas James, "a very good man," died of a 
fever, and had four dropping guns fired at his throwing over. 
Forty-four of the colonists died on the voyage to Darien. 
On the 30th, the fleet arrived at the Isthmus, and anchored in 
a fine sandy bay, about two leagues westward of the Gulf of 
Darien. The next day some went in boats to Carret Bay,^^ two 
leagues to the west, looking for their destination. On the ist 
of November, the ships sailed westward, and anchored within 
half a mile of Golden Island. "On the main and all the bay 
round full of mangrows and swampy ground, which is very 
unwholesome." The next day. Captain Andreas (Chief 
Andres), with about a dozen Indians, came ofit from the shore, 
and asked why they came, and if the Scots were friends to the 
Spaniards. The colonists replied that they came to settle and 

" For this part of the narrative, we are indebted to the Journal of 
Mr. Hugh Rose, perhaps, Secretary to the Council. His record was sent 
home, December 28th, 1698,, with the first report of the colony. Given 
in "The Darien Papers." 

^^ Captain Pinkerton has the distinction of having his name spelled 
in more different ways than any other official of the colony. 

"Puerto Carreto (Careta). 

Pour hundred seventy-nine 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

trade. Andreas praised the Buccaneer Captains, Swan and 
Davis. 

In the afternon of the 2nd, the Scots went in boats to 
examine the bay four miles east of Golden Island, and found it 
to be an excellent harbor, capable of containing looo of the best 
ships in the world. This bay was about a league in length, 
and about a mile wide, with wet marshy ground about. In the 
middle of the entry to this bay (afterwards called Caledonia 
Bay), and showing three feet above the water, was a rock; 
doubtless the same called Black Rock by Mr. Paterson in his 
report." Not far away was a small rock under water. The 
port was formed, and sheltered from the sea, by a peninsula 
three miles in length, and half a mile broad. Facing the Carib- 
bean, the shore of the peninsula was rocky and steep. The 
peninsula was not inhabited by Indians, and was covered with 
cedars, mahogany. Brazil-wood, lignum vitae, fustic, manchi- 
neel, and other trees. Several springs were found on this 
tongue of land. 

November 3rd, 1698 — "This day we landed and took posses- 
sion," writes Mr. Rose. Captain Andreas again visited the 
ships; this time with his traveling wife, "having in all four." 
He carried a stave tipt with silver, and pumped the Scots as 
to their intentions. 

The point of the peninsula presented a flat, sandy surface, 
and was selected as the site of their settlement, which was 
named New Edinburgh. A battery of 16 guns, erected to com- 
mand the harbor, was called Fort St. Andrew. The narrowest 
part of the peninsula, only 180 paces in width, was cut through 
to let in the sea, thus converting New Edinburgh into an 
island, and furnishing additional defence for the town and 
fort. Pursuant to orders from the Directors, the region was 
called Caledonia, and the port became known as Caledonia Bay. 

When the Unicorn entered the harbor, on Nov. 4th, she 
struck that sunken rock, and tore off some of her sheathing. 
Men were landed from each ship to clear away the brush, fell 
trees, and build huts." The sick were put ashore as soon as 
shelters were constructed. In a few days, Mrs. Paterson died, 
and dropping guns were fired at her burial. Paterson's clerk, 
Thomas Fenner, was already dead. 

On the 15th of November, the young colony was visited by 
Captain Richard Long, of the English warship Rupert Prise. 

""The Darien Papers." 

"A look-out was erected on a hill, "about a mile high," from which 
ships could be seen ten leagues at sea. 

Four hundred eighty 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

Captain Long (Lang, as they spelled it) was a spy sent out 
by King William to discover the location of the Scots. On 
the 19th, several of the Councillors set out towards the west to 
explore the coast; and in a few days entered an excellent 
harbor, where the Buccaneers used to careen their vessels. 
They then landed at the river Coco, and visited Chief Ambro- 
sio,"' and his son-in-law Pedro, " a brisk little fellow," who 
could speak Spanish and French, and who lived with him. 

Nov. 2 1 St, Mr. Adam Scott, the last preacher, died of a flux. 
Under date of the 28th, Mr. Rose writes : "These 24 houres 
ther has fallen a prodigious quantity of rain." 

On the 3rd of December, Andreas was commissioned one of 
the Company's Captains, and given a basket-hilted sword, and 
a pair of good pistols. His commission was written on parch- 
ment, with the Colony's seal and a very broad "gold stript and 
flour'd ribbon appended." Seven guns were discharged in 
honor of the new Captain and the Company. Andreas imme- 
diately qualified by drinking freely with the Council, on board 
the St. Andrew, and getting drunk like an officer and a gentle- 
man. On the 13th, a French ship, the Maurepas, came in the 
harbor and saluted the Commodore (the St. Andreiv, Captain 
Pennicuik). Her commander. Captain Duvivier Thomas^ re- 
ported that he had come out with those that returned the 
church plate^ to Cartagena. When the Frenchman sailed, on 
the 24th, the Captain was drunk, and the Maurepas was 
wrecked on the rocks on the west side of the bay, with the loss 
of a number of lives.^ 

On the 28th of December, 1698, Mr. Alexander Hamilton 
sailed on a turtling sloop (Capt. Edward Sands) with the first 
dispatch of the Colony, and Mr. Rose's Journal, for the Direc- 
tors in Scotland. The first report of the Colony had few dis- 
asters to relate, and gave general satisfaction at home. Major 
Cunningham, one of the Council, suddenly severed his con- 

" "When they came near, Ambrosio advanced about 50 pace with 20 
followers, all cloathed in white loose frocks with fringes round the 
bottoms, and lances in their hands. He saluted them very kindly, and 
gave them a calabash of liquor almost like lambswool, which they call 
Mischlew, being made of Indian corn and potatoes ; this they get drunk 
with all often" — Rose's Journal. 

'" Stolen by the French under De Pointis, in 1697. Louis XIV of 
France, as well as William of England, was now courting the friendship 
of Spain. 

^ Caledonia Harbor is described as a safe port, easy for ships to get 
in, but hard for sailing vessels to get out of ; because in the dry time, 
the wind from the north blows directly into the mouth of the harbor. 

Four hundred eighty-one 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

nection with Caledonia, and left on the sloop with Mr. 
Hamilton. 

Spain was much alarmed at the invasion and settlement by 
other Europeans of her American possessions ; and that, too, 
in the "very Heart" of her domains, as the Spanish Ambas- 
sador asserted. The Spaniards well remembered how a few 
hundred Buccaneers had crossed and recrossed the Isthmus 
at will, sacked and burnt the towns, and captured Spanish 
galleons on both oceans. Captain Long, from Jamaica, reported 
to his government: "The Spaniards in this Countrey are in 
a great consternation about it and challenge it for their Coun- 
trey." 

The Scotch invasion of Darien encouraged the liberals and 
progressives in the Spanish provinces to agitate for indepen- 
dence of the mother country. The slaves and cimarrones became 
troublesome. At Portobello, a body of 700 slaves, soon in- 
creased to 1,500, compelled the Governor to give them their 
freedom ; when they went about "struting and taking the right 
hand of their Masters, who dared not to say it was ill done."" 
At London, the Ambassador Extraordinary from Spain pre- 
sented the following Memorial to the King: — 

"The Under Subfcriber, AmbafTador Extraordinary of his 
Catholick Majefty, finds himfelf obliged by Exprefs Orders, to 
reprefent to your Majefty, that the King his Master having 
received Information from different places, and laft of all from 
the Governor of Havana, of the Infult and Attempt of fome 
Scots Ships, equipp'd with Men and other things requifit, who 
defign to fettle themf elves in his Majesty's Sovereign Demains 
in America, and particularly the Province of Darien. His 
Majefty receiv'd those Advices with very much difcontent, and 
looks upon the fame as a Token of fmall Friendship, and as a 
Rupture of the Alliance betwixt the two Crowns (which his 
Majesty hath obferved hitherto, and always obferves very re- 
ligion fly, and from which fo many Advantages and Profits 
have refulted both to your Majesty and your Subjects) as a 
Confequence of which good Correfpondence his Majesty did 
not expect such sudden Infults and Attempts by your Majesty's 
Subjects, and that too in a time of Peace, without pretext (or 
any caufe) in the very Heart of his Demains. 

All that the King de fires, is. That this may be reprefented to 
your Majefty, and that your Majefty may be acquainted, that 

^Rose' Journal. 
Pour hundred eighty-two 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

he is very fenfible of fuch Hoftilities and unjuft Procedures, 
againft which his Majefty will take fuch Meafures as he thinks 
convenient. Given at London May 13-3, 1699." 

The Governors of Panama and Cartagena gathered land and 
sea forces to go against the invaders. As early as December 
15th, Andreas reported the Spaniards passing over from 
Panama to Portobello, preparatory to attacking New Edin- 
burgh. On the 23rd of the same month, Captain Ambrosio 
gave warning of 600 Spaniards, with 200 South Sea Indians, 
marching overland from Santa Maria. Captain Pincartone 
(Pinker ton), with 30 men and a boy, sailed in the Dolphin 
Snow for Barbadoes, to barter stores for provisions. February 
5th, 1699, the vessel ran on a rock, and leaked so badly that 
they were compelled to run her ashore under the walls of Car- 
tagena ; where the Spaniards held them on the charge of 
piracy."^ On the 6th of February, a Spanish outpost in the 
lands of Captain Pedro, was driven back by Captain James 
Montgomery and a party of 100 men. 

On the 24th of February, 1699, the Council made a Treaty" 
with Pedro, the principal chieftain of Darien, who could put 
3000 warriors in the field. There should be peace between the 
Indians and Caledonians "as long as rivers ran, and gold was 
found in Darien." ^' 

April 24th, the Council and Deputies assembled in a Parlia- 
ment at New Edinburgh, and passed 34 rules and ordinances 
for the government of the Colony. The first regulation, at 
least, was a good one : 

I. "In the first place, it is hereby provided and declared, 
that the precepts, instructions, examples, comands, and prohi- 
bitions exprest and contained in the holy Scriptures, as of right 
they ought, shall not only be binding and obliging, and have 
the full force and effect of lawes within this Colony, but are, 
were, and of right ought to be, the standart, rule, and mea- 
sure to all, the further and other constitutions, rules, and 
ordinances thereof." ^ 

^' Capt. Pinkerton was sent to Spain for trial, and ultimately set free. 
His men were dispersed among the Spanish ships in the West Indies. 
Andrew lyivingston, Chirurgeon, escaped from Cartagena to New 
Edinburgh early in 1700, for which the Council allowed him an extra 
share of brandy. 

^ Given in the Appendix. 

^ See the novel "Darien," by Eliot Warburton. 

^"The Darien Papers, p. 113. 

Four hundred eighty-three 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

The Colony was already in disorder, and these laws tended 
to hasten its dissolution. 

In May, a French sloop, commanded by Captain Tristian, 
came to Darien from Petit Guavis, with a letter from Gov. Du 
Casse about the French wreck. 

Captain Long reached London late in December, 1698, and 
reported to William all he had learned about the Darien Colony. 
Almost immediately, the King"' issued secret orders to the 
English Colonial Governors in America, forbidding them to 
give food or any other assistance to the Scotch colonists, and 
directing that the Governors issue proclamations, strictly en- 
joining their people from holding any communication with the 
said persons. The order to Governor Nicholson of Virginia, 
found in the Va. State Library, runs as follows : 

Whitehall, 2d Janry, 1698-9. 
Sir, 

His Maj.^y having received Advice from the Island of 
Jamaica that severall Ships of force fitted out in Scotland 
were arrived at the Island of St. Thomas, (with an Intencon 
as they Declared) to settle themselves in some part of America 
their design being unknown to his Ma.^, least the same should 
derogate from the treaties his Maj.^y have entered into with 
the Crown of Spain or be otherwise prejudiciall to any of his 
Maj.'^s Colonyes in the West Indies! his Maj.^y Commands me 
to signify his Pleasure to you that you strictly enjoyn all his 
Maj.^ Subjects or others inhabiting within the districts of your 
Governm't that they forbear holding any correspondence with, 
or giving any assistance to any of the said psons while they 
are engaged in the fores.*^ enterprize, and that no provisions, 
arms, ammunition, or other necessarys whatsoever be carryed 
to them from thence, or be pmitted to be carryed either in their 
own Vessells or other Ships or Vessells for their use; his Maj.*y 
requires that you do not fail herein; but take particular care 
that the above mentioned direccons be fully observed, and that 

" Under the Act creating the Company, the King was required to 
interpose and obtain reparation should any foreign state injure the 
Company. Instead of which, William did all in his power to kill the 
enterprise. The Company and people of Scotland, very properly, blamed 
the King and English people for the failure of the Darien settlement. 
The bitterness thus engendered almost excited rebellion, and delayed 
the union of the two countries ; which was not consummated until the 
year 1707. 

Four hundred eighty-four 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

you send hither an account of your proceedings in the execucon 
of these his Commands..^ 
I am Sir, 

Your most humble Servant, 

Ja: Vernon. 

Similar directions were sent to Lord Bellomont, Gov. of New 
York and New England; Gov. Beeston,"^ of Jamaica; Gov. Gray 
of Barbados; etc. 

About this time, there appeared at Paris a pamphlet directed 
against the Darien Company. The anonymous writer affirmed 
that the Province of Darien belonged in entire sovereignty to 
the Catholic King, and that the irruption of the Scots was 
odious in all its circumstances; as a simple exposition of the 
facts would make clear.^° He recounted the "Bulles" of Pope 
Alexander VI., and the donation of America to Spain. The 
author reviewed the history of the discovery of the Isthmus, the 
settlement of Santa Maria la Antigua in Darien, the regime of 
the Spanish governors, and the raids of Francis Drake and 
Oxenham ; claiming that Spain forced Queen Elizabeth to sur- 
render to Mendoza, the Spanish Ambassador, the booty taken 
by Drake. This brochure held that Darien was as much set- 
tled as the western part of Ireland — from Sligo to Limerick — 
and asserted that the Spaniards were then in actual possssion 
of Santa Maria de las Minas (Cana). "Que qui prouve pour 
le tout prouve pour le Partie," exclaimed the writer, at the 
completion of his argument. 

'' Hiram Bingham — "Virginia Letters on the Scots Darien Colony." 
American Historical Review, Vol X, No. 4, July, 1905. William knew 
at this time that the Scots had located on the Isthmus; but did not 
care to commit himself, lest he should be called to account by Spain, 
and enrage the Jacobites in Scotland. On June i8th, 1699, the King 
sent a second order to the Gov. of Virginia, in which he announces 
that the Company had taken possession of Caerat (or Carrat) Bay. 
Gov. Nicholson never proclaimed this order. 

^Gov. Beeston was the first to issue a proclamation, April 8, 1699; 
and only three governors complied with the order. 

^° "II eft si notoire que le Province de Darien apartient en toute 
Souverainte au Roi Catholique, & I'lrruption que les Ecoffqis y ont 
faire cette annee eft si odieufe en toutes ses circonftances que la fimple 
exposition du fait devroit fufire en cette affaire pour tout eclairciffement. 

"Le Darien au refte n'eft pas feulement une Province depandante de 
la Couronne d'Efpagne en America. C'eft de plus la Porte de toutes les 
autres, e'en eft le centre & le feul lieu que fa Majefte ait par terre 
pour la Communication de fes autres Etats Americains tant du Midi 
que du Septentrion." — U Affaire de Darien. 

Four hundred eighty-five 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

As an off-set to this, we have the answer to the Memorial 
presented by the Spanish Ambassador; issued by Philo- 
Caledon, at Edinburgh, in the year 1699 ("MDC, XC, IX"). 
The author (Archibald Foyer), challenged the right of the 
Spaniards to hold Darien either by Inheritance, Marriage, 
Donation, Purchase, Reversion, Surrender, Possession, or Con- 
quest. He claimed, truly, that the Darien Indians were never 
conquered ; nor did they ever receive a Spanish governor or gar- 
rison. The writer quotes Dampier, Wafer, Sharp, and Ring- 
rose, to show that the Dariens invited the English and French 
to come in, and joined in fighting the Spaniards. He further 
states that Captain Sharp was tried for robbery and piracy in 
England, and acquitted because of his commission from the 
Darien Princes. 

Spain's only title to Darien lay in the general donation of 
America by the Pope. "To urge the Tope's Grant amongst 
Protestants is ridiculous, and among Papists themselves but 
precarious," affirms Philo-Caledon. He sn.ashes the title by 
donation by showing that Rome did not make the gift for 
Conquest, but to propagate the Faith ; which right the Spaniards 
had forfeited by acquitting themselves so ill; in proof of which 
he cites their Bishop of Chiapa, Las Casas, who asserted that 
instead of converting the souls of the Indians, the Spaniards 
destroyed their bodies, murdering above forty millions of 
them. 

As an instance of their failure to convert the natives, the 
writer narrates the story of Prince Hathwey,^ who, while burn- 
ing at the stake, preferred going to hell, when told that heaven 
was full of Spaniards. As a clincher to his argument, the 
writer claimed that the occupation of Darien by the Scots 
would promote closer union between England and Scotland, 
help the trade of England and the V/est Indies, and make 
money easy. 

Partly as a result of the opposition of the King, and the 
proclamations against them — but more from their own unfit- 
ness for the climate, and the incompetence of their Council- 
lors — the Caledonians did not last long in Darien. These pink- 
skinned northmen'^ were as helpless among the tropical jungles 

^^ Cacique Hatuey, who dwelt in the eastern part of Cuba, whence he 
had fled from Haiti, to escape the atrocities of the white man. 

^ "It was folly to suppose," says Macaulay, "that men born and bred 
within ten degrees of the Arctic Circle would enjoy excellent health 
within ten degrees of the Equator." 

Four hundred eighty-six 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

as fish out of water. They scorned to learn of the Indians, and 
made no effort at planting or self -sustenance. The Scots 
brought out articles for trade, but the proclamations kept others 
away, and they were not able to secure enough food to keep 
themselves alive. The officials quarrelled and did nothing; 
and the colonists slowly starved, or quickly sickened and died. 
The Indians'^ kept the colony in constant alarm by reports of 
the Spaniards coming, and vainly urged the Scots to go against 
Santa Maria or Portobello. 

The Darien Scheme was useless without a route across the 
Isthmus, and a port on each side. The Scots never attempted 
to reach the South Sea, or establish a post on the Gulf of San 
Miguel. If their leaders thought to accomplish this in time 
without fighting the Spaniards, they were simply fools, and 
deserved their fate. The mass of the colonists were innocent 
sufferers from the stupidity and incompetence of their officials. 

The Carreto- Ada- Caledonia Pass" is the oldest route across 
the Isthmus known to the whites. From this region, Vasco 
Nunez de Balboa, in 15 13, started out on his quest for the 
South. Sea; and from Ada he established communication with 
the Gulf of San Miguel by way of the Rio Balsas. Ada 
(Agla) was the town founded in 15 15 by Pedrarias, and was 
located probably at the mouth of the Rio Aglaseniqua, which 
empties into the western part of Caledonia Bay, opposite 
Golden Island. 

Gil Gonzalez Davila, like Balboa, transported his vessels 
from Ada across the mountains to the Rio Balsas, and so to 
the South Sea. The Buccaneers who congregated at Golden 
Island (the north-western headland of Caledonia Bay), landed 
on the mainland opposite, near the site of Ada; and thence 
they passed over the divide, and followed the Chucunaque 
river down to its junction with the Tuira, near the town of 
Santa Maria. 

The delusion, held by many, that an easy pass existed 

^Knowing what Francis Drake and the Buccaneers had achieved on 
the Isthmus, with what contempt the Indians must have looked upon 
this helpless and sorry lot of white men. 

^It is singular, says a writer in the Edinburgh Review (vol. xvi 

p. 96) that the Scots selected the only point where a communication 
between the two seas seems practicable. "Had the settlement founded 
by our countrymen been maintained for a few years only, the Succes- 
sion War, which almost immediately followed, would have secured to 
us intercourse with the South Sea, which the House of Bourbon our 
inveterate enemies, would never have been able to have shut against us." 

Pour hundred eighty-seven 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

between Caledonia Bay and the Gulf of San Miguel, persisted 
until 1854, when it was dispelled by the expedition of Lieut. 
Strain, U. S. N. Had the Caledonians attempted to open com- 
munication across the Isthmus, and secure a port on the Gulf 
of San Miguel, their fate would have been more pitiable, if 
possible, than it was. The Spaniards, who had been on the 
Isthmus for two hundred years, had naturally come to settle 
on the most desirable pass — the Portobello-Chagres River — 
Panama route. 

Upon receipt of the first report of the Colony, at the hands 
of Mr. Hamilton, the Directors at Edinburgh, under date of 
22nd April, 1699, wrote to the Right Hon'ble the Council of 
Caledonia, of the great satisfaction it gave throughout the 
Kingdom. Thanksgivings were held in the churches, and the 
public rejoicings consisted of "bone-fires, illuminations, ring- 
ing of bells, and all other demonstrations of joy." 

While the shareholders in Scotland were still rejoicing over 
the good news from the Colony — and their own prospects of 
gain — the Caledonians were preparing to vacate Darien. Sick- 
ness continued among the colonists, aggravated by want of food, 
until about 300 of their number had already died of fever and 
fluxes ;and the remainder lived in constant fear of the Spaniards. 

On the 20th of June, 1699, about eight months after landing, 
the 900 enfeebled survivors hurriedly , evacuated New Edin- 
burgh. England and her colonies had proclaimed against them ; 
and since their arrival, the Caledonians had heard nothing from 
the home company.^ This opposition, however, had only made 
the Company more determined to persist in their scheme. The 
Directors in Scotland were more capable than were the Council 
in the wilds of America. In January, 1699, they started out the 
Dispatch with supplies for the colony; but the vessel was 
wrecked before getting away from the shores of Scotland. The 
Company then fitted out two ships, which at this very time were 
on the way to the relief of the colonists. 

The Caledonians embarked in the ships they came in, with the 
exception of the Dolphin Snozv, seized at Cartegena. The 
Endeavour Pink leaked badly, and was abandoned at sea, her 
passengers being transferred to the other vessels. Each ship 
selected her own course to hasten away from the fatal spot. 

^ "All the time of their abode here, which was upwards of seven 
months, they say they had never fo much as one Letter or Vessel from 
Scotland, which was a great difcouragement to them, and no good policy 
in our Directors at home." — Rev. Mr. Francis Borland. 

Pour hundred eighty-eight 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

After a hard passage, the St. Andrew reached Blewfields, 
Jamaica, losing lOO men by sickness. So few of her crew were 
left, that seamen were hired at this port to sail the ship to 
Port Royal, where her people continued to die, and the vessel 
was deserted. The Captain, Robert Pennicuik, one of the 
Council, died on the sea. When the Unicorn left Caledonia 
Bay, Mr. Patterson was carried on board, suffering from a 
fever; and for a time was out of his head. This ship steered 
for New York, losing about 150 persons, including their Chief 
Surgeon, Mr. Hector Mackenzie, who died off Cape Antonio, 
Cuba. The Unicorn reached New York,'^ August 14th, 1699, 
after a tempestuous voyage ; Captain John Anderson saving the 
ship by his skilful seamanship. Here they found the Caledonia, 
which had arrived about ten days before them; having lost 
about the same number from disease. The Company sent 
Archibald Stewart, Chyrurgeon, from Scotland to look after the 
sick and the affairs of the colonists in New York. 

During this "middle passage," as it is called, from Darien to 
Jamaica and New York, more than 4(X) dead were thrown over- 
board. Those who lived to reach New York, rapidly recovered 
their health in that temperate climate, and some remained there. 
The Unicorn was finally abandoned at East Jersey, New York 
harbor. On October 12th, Air. Paterson, with a few survivors, 
sailed in the Caledonia for Scotland. The furies still followed 
the unfortunate Scots, and gave them a rough passage home. 
Paterson reached Edinburgh on December 5th, and on the 19th 
wrote a report to the directors. 

^ When the Directors heard of the desertion of Caledonia, they wrote 
Oct. loth, to the original Council at New York: "The surprising and 
unaccountable news of your shamefull and dishonourable abandonment 
of Caledonia the 29th^ of June last, without any the least hint thereof 
from yourselves, affords us but too much matter of reflection on your 
unfatuated proceedings for some time past." — "The Darien Papers." 

'' Probably the 20th. 



Pour hundred eighty-nine 



THB DARIBN COLONY 
THE SECOND EXPEDITION. 

After the loss of the Dispatch, the Company sent to Darien 
two vessels, the Olive Branch, Captain WilHam Jameson ; and 
the Hopeful Binning of Bo'ness, Captain Alexander Stark. 
These two ships, usually called the second expedition, sailed 
from Leith, May 12th, 1699, with 300 more recruits, and sup- 
plies for the Caledonians. By the middle of August, two 
months after the departure of the first expedition, the two ships 
arrived safely at Darien, having but one death on the voyage 
out. To their surprise, they found New Edinburgh deserted, 
and were in suspense what to do; but resolved to remain and 
await the arrival of a larger party, which they knew was fitting 
out. But the inexorable fate which accompanied every attempt 
of the Scots in this enterprise, again determined their move- 
ments. 

In a few days, a careless steward aboard the Olive Branch, 
while drawing brandy ,** set fire to the ^hip, and it was entirely 
consumed. As most of the stores had been carried by the 
Olive Branch, the party now decided not to wait for the next 
expedition, but to abandon the place. About 12 persons,^ 
including three lieutenants, and a carpenter and his wife, 
elected to remain and await the coming of the expected rein- 
forcements. Those who had come out on the burnt ship, about 
100 in number, were taken on the Hopeful Binning, and Cap- 
tain Stark sailed for Jamaica. There the Scots rapidly sickened, 
and most of them died. 

^ The Scots carried enormous quantities of liquor among the supplies, 
and there was altogether too much drinking by the colonists. One of 
the councillors is described as not caring what became of the colony so 
long as he had his pipe and dram. 

^ The Rev. Mr. Borland says, "about six men of them so resolute 
and bold." 



Four hundred ninety 



THB DARIBN COLONY 
THE THIRD EXPEDITION. 

The third expedition, often called the Rising Sun party, was 
the largest body of Colonists sent to Darien by the Company 
of Scotland. It consisted of 1300 persons, who sailed from the 
Clyde, September 24th, 1699, in four ships ; the Rising Sun, 
Captain Gibson ; the Company's Hope, Captain Miller ; the 
Duke of Hamilton, Captain Duncan; and the Hope of Bor- 
oughstomen. Captain Dalling. The fleet stopped at Montserrat, 
and sent the boats ashore for fresh water; but the English 
Governor, in compliance with his orders, inhumanely refused 
the request. Here they heard rumors of the desertion of 
Darien by the first colony. 

The Rising Sun party reached Caledonia Bay, November 
30th, 1699. On the way out, 160 persons perished, including 
one of their four preachers,*" Alexander Dalgliesh, who died 
betwixt Montserrat and Darien. The new arrivals found two 
sloops at anchor in the harbor, and saw the burnt hull of Cap- 
tain Jamieson's ship. One of the sloops belonged to Mr. Ful- 
ton, a trader from New England; the other was commanded 
by Captain Thomas Drummond, a member of the first Council, 
who sailed from New York, September i8th, to try and resettle 
Darien, if men and supplies would arrive from Scotland. The 
heroic little band who remained behind when the Hopeful 
Binning left, were found living with the Indians. 

The best account of the third expedition is that by Francis 
Borland, one of the preachers. Borland's narrative, in addi- 
tion to its great historic value, possesses a delicious humor, 
which is all the richer because the writer is so completely 
unconscious of it. He describes the scene at New Edinburgh 
as like the coming of David with his little army to Ziklag of 
old, where expecting to meet with their friends and relatives, 
they found the town burnt and laid waste^ and the colonists 
gone they knew not whither; so that the people lift up their 

^ The Company looked after the spiritual as well as the temporal 
welfare of the Colony. After the death of the two ministers sent with 
the first expedition, the Council requested more preachers. The direc- 
tors appealed to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 
which appointed a Commission to promote so Christian and noble a 
design. At a meeting held at Glasgow, July 19th, 1699, Mr. Meldrum 
preached a fervid and suitable sermon; choosing as his text, Hebrews 
XI-8., — "By Faith Abraham being called of God, obeyed and went out, 
not knoiuing whither he went." They arranged to supply preachers, and 
drew up a letter of instructions for the colony. 



Pour hundred ninety-one 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

voice and wept sore. The Scots held council what to do, and 
someone proposed that one of the ministers pray for direction; 
but the motion was lost. As they had brought out only provi- 
sions, and nothing with which to start a colony, it was decided 
to send 400 landsmen and 100 seamen to Jamaica. The men 
were not sent away, however, as the ships could not get out of 
the harbor on account of the north wind. 

The new colonists landed, and cleared the ground again." 
They built huts for the planters, 12 feet long, and 10 wide; and 
for the officers, 30 feet long, and 16 wide; also several store- 
houses ; which they covered with plantain leaves. The preach- 
ers, compelled to stay on the ships, complained of having no 
houses erected for them ; and it never occurred to the ministers 
that they might construct huts for themselves. The fort was 
repaired, and guns again mounted for defence. 

The Company had appointed a new council for Caledonia, 
consisting of Captain Gibson, Captain Veitch, Major Lindsay, 
and James Byars.*' The last was the boss of the colony, and 
is accused by the Rev. Alexander Shields^' of hindering the set- 
tlement of Darien. Councillor Byres told the people there was 
food for only six weeks, whereas there was plenty for six 
months. Accordingly, he cut down the daily allowance of 
provisions, "so it might last the longer," which caused much 
grumbling among the colonists. Another cause of discontent 
was a rumor that those persons detailed to be transported to 
Jamaica were there to be sold into servitude. 

Instead of diminishing, disease and death increased on land- 
ing in Darien. Fourteen days after their arrival, nine sailors 
deserted from the Rising Sun, going away in the ship's boat, 

^ "For things in this fouthern climate are of a fpeedy growth." — 
Borland. 

*^ Like the other names, spelled in various ways. 

^^ The Rev. Shields, author of the "Hynd Let Loose," who had served 
with the army in Flanders, said he had never been concerned with such 
a company as this was. He affirms, in a letter home, that Mr. Byres 
hindered planting and opposed all motions for making any attempt 
upon the Spaniards — "yea, asserted and contended, that not only we 
were unable to make any such attempt, but that it was unlawful for 
Christians, under the New Testament Dispensation, to make any war; 
and not only so, but that justice would require that we should make 
reparation to the Spaniards for the injuries done to them; and because 
I mentioned the lawfulness of war, he upbraided me to my face with 
nonsense, contradicting the Gospell, and tempting men to Atheism." — 

"The Darien Papers." 

Pour hundred ninety-two 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

perhaps to join the Spaniards at Portobel. About the middle 
of December, there was hatched and discovered a plot to seize 
the councillors and ships, and escape from the fatal spot. 
Alexander Campbell was adjudged the ringleader, condemned 
by court-martial, and on December 20th, executed within the 
fort. From a letter of Rev. Shields, it is probable that this man 
was the carpenter who remained in Caledonia when the second 
expedition departed. 

Like with the previous parties, affairs rapidly went from bad 
to worse. A few men, like Captain Thomas Drummond, and 
Lieutenant Turnbull, seemed to possess a true knowledge of 
their situation. The Spaniards, of course, were preparing to 
drive out the Scots, and the latter heard dreadful tales of the 
fate awaiting them. On December 15th, 1699, Captain Drum- 
mond, aboard his sloop, the Anna of Caledonia, wrote a letter 
to the Council, offering to lead 150 volunteers, with Indians, 
against Portobello, and thus forestall the Spaniards. The 
Council not only rejected the proposal, but, through the influ- 
ence of Byres, arrested Captain Drummond** on suspicion of his 
having a hand in the plot to seize on the ships and councillors, 
and confined him aboard the Duke of Hamilton. 

Under date of 23 December, 1699, the Council, on board the 
Rising Sun, Caledonia Bay, wrote to the Directors: "The 
place, by its situation in this part of the world, is fitt for com- 
merce; and, if money be bestowed, honest men imployed, and 
good measures followed, a firme settlement may be made, so 
that strangers may promise themselves safety here; but on 
planting and improvement no great stress can be laid for reim- 
bursing the adventurers unless negroes be procured, white 
men being unfitt for that work, more costly in their mainte- 
nance, and so only fitt for defending the settlem't and over- 
seeing the work." * * * * 

"That which was called gold dust is indeed very thick here, 
particularly at our watering-place, in and about the water ; but 
it proves really nothing att all but slimy stuff, verifying the 

** Later, Captain Drummond was fully exonerated by the Company, 
and Byres correspondingly condemned for his "arbitrary, illegal, and 
inhumane actings." Among the 25 queries prepared by Drummond to 
be addressed to Mr. Byres was the following, — 16. "What reason had 
you to vilepend the Indians, and to make them appear little, still 
saying they were no better than a parcle of mounckies, and that their 
friendship was not worth, altho' I had begged several times they should 
carry fair with the Indians, knowing very well we could not secure our 
settlement without their friendship." 

"The Darien Papers.^' 

Pour hundred ninety-three 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

proverb, 'tis not all Gold that glisters. Among the natives wee 
find nothing of gold or silver save a few nose Jewells, such as 
you have seen ; and scarcely amongst them all wee have found 
so much as one ounce of gold in mass or lignet, which they 
gett from ye Spaniards ; but of the dust or ore, not one grain. 
And whereas there were ample accounts given of the natives 
being at warr with the Spaniards, and that they were our 
fast friends, we find two of their Captains, viz. Pedro and 
Augustine, with silver headed staves, as Spanish Captains, will- 
ing notwithstanding, to goe with us and plunder the Spaniards, 
as noe doubt they would doe us, if the Spaniards would help 
them." Signed by James Gibsone — J. Lindsay — Ja. Byres — 
Wm. Veitch. 

On the 1 6th of January, 1700, Rev. Borland, Rev. Shiels, and 
others, started out under the guidance of Lieut. Turnbull to 
visit the Indians on the greater and lesser rivers of Ada, about 
eight miles to the westward of New Edinburgh. "Ebenezer !" 
exclaims preacher Borland; "The Lord leading the blind by a 
way they knew not." The first night they lodged at the house 
of Captain Pedro, who gave them meat and fruit to eat, and 
hammocks to sleep in. Next day, the party followed the river 
down to Prandies Bay, over against Golden Island, then far- 
ther west to little Ada, where they passed the night at the 
house of an Indian named John (Juan). The following day, 
they returned to New Edinburgh. The hike was a terrible 
experience, and Mr. Borland was so grateful on coming to a 
spring of cool water, that he called it "Beer-la-hai-roi — the well 
of him that liveth and did see us." Preacher Shiels, who was 
faint and sore spent, did drink of the well, and was refreshed. 

February 2nd, the three ministers*' met and wrote a letter 
to the moderators of the commission of the General Assembly, 
in Scotland. — "The source and fountain cause of all our mis- 
eries we brought from our own country with us, arising from 
the inconsiderate ("hoice that was made there of the worst of 
men to go along with us, that ever were sent to command or 
serve in a colony." 

The miseries of the colonists continued to increase ; and 
February 7th, councillor Byres sailed for Jamaica to seek help, 

*'Revs. Borland, Shields, and Archibald Stobo . 



Four hundred ninety-four 



THU DARIBN COLONY 

"but came no speed there." The preachers now had plenty of 
occupation in visiting the sick on shore/" 

On the loth of October, 1699, the Directors had appointed 
Captain Alexander Campbell of Fonabb (Finab) to be com- 
mander of Caledonia by land and sea, and on February nth, 
1700, he reached New Edinburgh from Barbadoes with a sloop 
loaded with provisions. His arrival caused all the Rising Sun 
party to remain on the Isthmus. Campbell's first act was to 
release from arrest Captain Drummond, who had been a fellow 
officer in Lorn's regiment in Flanders. 

February 13th, the Indians again gave the alarm that the 
Spaniards were coming ; and Captain Campbell with 200 Scots, 
and 40 Indians under Lieut. Turnbull, started out to give them 
battle. On the 15th, about twenty miles southwest of New 
Edinburgh, they came upon the Spaniards barricadoed upon a 
hillside. According to the Rev. Borland, the site of the fight 
was known as Yoratuba. Rev. Shields calls the place Topo- 
cante, and says that the enemy consisted of three or four hun- 
dred Spaniards, Mulattos, Creolleos, and Negroes; com- 
manded by their "Muestre de Campo, Michael de Cordonnez, 
who run with the first." The Scots tore down the palisades, 
and had a short, sharp engagement with the Spaniards ; when 
the latter fled, leaving their dead on the field. The Indians 
bore themselves bravely. The Scots had nine men killed, and 
fourteen wounded. Five Spaniards were taken prisoners. 
Captain Campbell," Lieut. Turnbull, and Chief Pedro were 
among the wounded. A poor Indian, who had distinguished 
himself in the fight, was made Captain, and named Alexander, 
probably taking the name of the Scottish commander. He was 
given a scarlet coat, and hat with lacing. Chief Diego's son, 
now called Captain Steven, was given the same; and Chief 
Pedro was suitably rewarded. 

The Scots were much elated over their successful encounter 
with the Spaniards, but their joy proved to be short-lived. In 
a few days several of their boats were run into the harbor by 

*®"Our settlement in Darien, was in a very fickly and unwholefome 
climate as is marked above; therefore the Spaniards deferted it long 
ago; and could our people of a far more northerly latitude than Spain 
is, expect here long to thrive and prosper? This consideration alone, 
would foon have made our people weary of it, as a place too hot for 
them, too coftly and chargeable to maintain." 

"The History of Darien" Francis Borland, p. 96. 

" Upon returning to Scotland, Capt. Campbell received a grant of 
arms for his victory ; as also a medal from the Company. 

Four huridred ninety-five 



THB DARIEN COLONY 

Spanish vessels, which pressed them so hard that the long-boat 
of the Rising Sun was run ashore in Caret Bay, and abandoned. 
February 23rd and 25th, eleven Spanish sail anchored within 
Golden Island, in plain view of the settlement. The enemy 
had landed troops at Caret Bay ; and Spaniards, Indians, and 
Negroes, were reported coming by land from Panama and 
Santa Maria ; all under command of their General, Don Juan 
Pimienta, Governor of Cartagena and Panama. February 28th, 
the casual firing of some gun-powder burnt up several rows of 
huts, and added to the miseries of the Scots, both sick and well. 
The next day, they had a skirmish with the Spaniards near the 
neck of the peninsula, in which Captain Mcintosh was wounded, 
dying a few days later. 

The hand of the Lord was now very heavy on the Scots ; 
sickness and mortality increasing. Major Lindsay, a councillor, 
died; and one day there were sixteen burials. "Some in toler- 
able health today, and cut off by sudden violent fevers and 
fluxes in a few days." The preachers wanted to set a day of 
prayer, but the Council pretended they had no time for it.** 

The Caledonians strengthened the defences of their fort, 
and prepared fireships to combat the Spanish fleet. Provisions 
and ammunition were running low, and pewter utensils were 
melted into shot. On the 17th of March, there was another 
engagement with the enemy, when the Scots were driven in 
from the neck of land. The Spanish General sent a drummer, 
and a demand, which the Council did not understand, having 
no interpreter. 

March i8th, the Council, with the land and sea Captains, 
voted, nemine contradicente, capitulate; all except Captain 
Campbell, who was for fight. When Captain Kerr went to the 
Spaniards, on the 22nd, their General*' was so "high and lofty" 

** "The people that our Company of Scotland f ent over hither to their 
New Colony, were moft of them, both Seamen and Landmen, Gentle- 
men and Officers, as well as the meaner fort, none of the beft of men. 
And therefore the Minifters fent along with them had but fmall com- 
fort in their company ; their inftructions and admonitions were but little 
regarded by them ; many of them seldom, and fome of them never 
attending the public worship of God. Whence we may fee what fort of 
a Church they could set up in this place, when there was fuch bad 
ftuff to make it of." — Borland. 

*® "This Pimienta was a little thin man in stature, but mighty proud, 
passionate, stiff, and wilful." — Borland. 

Don Juan Diaz Pimienta, the Governor of Cartagena belonged to the 
noble house of Villareal, and was a Knight of the Order of Calatrava, 
and Maestre de Campo, who had won cr'idit for his military behaviour 
at the battle of Buda, where he received a wound. No doubt, he could 

Four hundred ninety-six 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

in his demands, that they could come to no terms. The 24th, 
the Spaniards advanced their Hne on the peninsula to within a 
mile of the fort, which gave them the opportunity to com- 
municate by boats with their ships. Guns were brought ashore, 
and a battery mounted on a hillside, opposite the weakest point 
of the fort. The Spaniards also took possession of a rivulet, 
about half a mile from the settlement, where the colonists 
obtained drinking water. This forced the Scots to dig a well 
within the confines of the fort, described as a brackish puddle. 
During the 28th and 29th, Spanish musketeers advanced and 
fired upon the fort. 

March 30th, to the surprise of the Caledonians, Genera] 
Pimienta offered to treat with them. This change in his atti- 
tude is said to have been due to an intercepted letter, which 
spoke of reinforcements coming to New Edinburgh. Mr. James 
Mayne drew up the articles in Latin; and on the 31st, the capi- 
tulation was signed by Don Juan Pimienta, and councillors 
Gibson and Veitch. The terms were remarkably favorable to 
the Scots. They were given fourteen days in which to get 
ready and depart from Darien, and were allowed to retain 
their arms, and leave with drums beating and colors flying.™ 

Two days after the surrender, the sloop Speedy Return, com- 
manded by Captain Bailie, with Captain Drummond aboard, 
came into port by night. Councillor Mackay had sailed on the 
same vessel, but fell from the poop while fishing for sharks, 
and was instantly devoured by those voracious animals. Coun- 
cillor Byres, returning from Jamaica on another sloop, failed 
to get into the harbor. 

April nth, 1700, the third expedition departed from New 
Edinburgh in seven ships, and anchored at Golden Island."" 
The Rising Sun, a sixty-gun ship, was hard to get out of port, 

have exterminated the fever-stricken Scotchmen. When Don Pedro 
Luis Henriquez de Guzman, Count of Canillas, the President of 
Panama, reported the rout of the Caledonians, he gave no credit to 
Pimienta, and himself was rewarded with the viceroyalty of Peru; 
which, however, he did not live to enjoy. 

^ During the negotiations, Rev. Shields ventured to request Pimienta 
not to be severe toward the Indians for their alliance with the Scots. 
The General told Mr. Shields, in Latin, to attend to his own business ; 
to which the Reverend replied, Curabo (I will attend to it.) 

" March 9th, 1700, the Company's vessel, Margaret of Dundee, Cap- 
tain Patrick Macdowall, sailed from Scotland, and on June i6th, arrived 
in Caledonia Bay. Finding the Spaniards in possession, the Scottish 
commander "fired two small shot among them in token of defiance," 
displayed his colors, and sailed away to Port Morant, in Jamaica. 

Four hundred ninety-seven 



THE DARIBN COLONY 

and the Spaniards generously lent a hand to help the sickly 
and weakened Scots. The next day, April 12th, the colonists 
sailed from Golden Island, each vessel steering a separate 
course for Blewfields. Captain Campbell and Captain Drum- 
mond, in their sloops, reached New York, and arrived safely 
in Scotland. All four of the ships met with disaster. The 
Hope of Bo'ness leaked so badly that Captain Bailing ran into 
Cartagena, where he sold the ship. The Company's Hope 
missed Blewfields, and was wrecked on the rocks called Colo- 
rados, off the west end of Cuba. The Rising Sun got to Blew- 
fields. and the rest also reached Jamaica. 

July 2 1st, 1700, the Rising Sun sailed from Blewfields, and off 
Florida encountered stormy weather. August 24th, she put 
into Charles-Town in Carolina, but could not cross the bar. 
A dreadful hurricane now came up, and completely wrecked 
the ship, destroying the lives of the 112 persons aboard, in- 
cluding Captain Gibson. The Duke of Hamilton, which was 
in Charleston at the same time, was also destroyed ; but all her 
people were saved. 

It is thus seen that the 1300 members of the third expedition 
fared no better than the former colonists. On the outward 
voyage, 160 perished; 300 died during the brief stay in Darien; 
250 on the "middle passage," after evacuating New Edinburgh ; 
about 100 died in Jamaica; and 112 were lost in the wreck of 
the Rising Sun. About 360 survivors became dispersed among 
the English settlements, a few finally returning to Scotland. 

After following the adventures of the Spanish discoverers 
and conquerors, the daring voyages of the Privateers, and 
the successful feats of the Buccaneers ; and then reading of the 
disasters which overwhelmed every action of the Scots in their 
attempt to plant a colony in Darien, we are inclined to agree 
with the Rev. Mr. Borland, that the enterprise was fore- 
ordained to destruction. Borland well summarizes the history 
of the different expeditions, when he says : — 

"After our company of Scotland had sent forth their first 
colony in order to settle upon Darien, whatever recruits and 
supplies of men and provisions were sent out of Scotland 
afterwards for this place, still the former were gone from the 
place, before the latter were come up, or else the supplies mis- 
carried by the way, or came too late. For, i. That ship sent 
from Clyde with provisions designed for the colony, was cast 
away, and failed in the undertaking. 2. When the first colony 
had dislodged and left the place, being upon the sea, some of 
them met with a New-England ship coming with provisions 

Four hundred ninety-eight 



' THB DARIBN COLONY 

for their colony, but it was now too late. 3. When Jamieson's 
and Stark's ships arrived upon the place with men and provi- 
sions, they found Caledonia deserted, and the colony gone, they 
knew not whither. 4. When the Rising Sun and her company 
came up, they found both the first colony, and Jamieson's and 
Stark's party removed and gone, and they never knew of it, 
until they got thither. 5. When Captain Bailie with a small vessel 
arrived there from Scotland, though they found the Rising- 
Sun's party upon the place, yet the capitulations with the Span- 
iards was concluded near two days before his arrival. 6. When 
Captain M'Dowal in a sloop from Dundee had come to Cale- 
donia with provisions, he found the place possessed by the 
Spaniards, our men being removed to Jamaica. From such an 
observable succession of counteracting providences in this de- 
sign, who cannot but remark, and see a holy and sovereign God, 
signally appearing and fighting against this undertaking." 

The preacher then affirms that the Caledonians were sadly 
immoral and profane, who did not honor God, and God did not 
honor them, but made the colonists to fall in the wilderness and 
in the sea. Rev. Borland concludes his history in these words". 

"From all that hath befallen this undertaking and Company, 
it is sadly evident and plain, that he that runs may read it, how 
a holy and just God has eminently appeared against, counter- 
acted, and frowned upon all the steps of it, from the first to 
the last, and upon them that were concerned therein : 

Tantae molis erat Darienfem colere terram, 
So coftly and fo dear was this defign. 
To plant a Colony in Darien." 

And so, the Scots colony failed ; but this failure was inherent 
in the political and economic conditions of its creation. Its 
effect was nil. Spain continued to hold the door of the South 
Sea and the west gate to Asia, until her widely extended 
empire — reaching out from the little kingdoms of Castile and 
Leon to both the oriental and occidental worlds — broke asunder 
at its weakest links, and the different Spanish-American pro- 
vinces declared for separate and independent statehood. With 
the new era came new growth and enterprise on the Isthmus, 
and today we have modern ideas and sanitation prevailing on 
what was once a white man's graveyard. 

The lesson of these efforts to seize and to hold the gateway 
to the Pacific accentuates the teachings of enlarged history, 

Pour hundred ninety-nine 



THB DARIBN COLONY 

with its ups and downs of states and nations ; an unending 
procession of failures and short-lived successes, with a passing 
away and a rebuilding, of no interest to society at large except 
when turning about such a strategic center as is the Panama 
pivot, where each man's efforts are magnified because of the 
stage whereon he plays his part. 

The future value of this passage from ocean to ocean is 
enhanced as the power behind the force, operating from interior 
lines, shows its capacity for avoiding the errors of its precur- 
sors, and appreciation of the great importance of the Isthmus of 
Panama as the world's great highway for migration, trade, 
and conquest. 



"The American Indians sufifered much injustice from the Spaniards, 
but history does not record any conquered nation that did not receive 
it from their conquerors; but this injustice is in great part compen- 
sated by the benefits received, benefits that are not sufficiently appre- 
ciated, even if they are not systematically denied, by those who endeavor 
to discredit the Spaniards, if it be only to excuse their own criminal 
conduct towards the aborigines. Can, in fact, any European nation that 
has founded colonies in America, show, like Spain, from statistics, that 
in what were its colonies two-thirds at least of the present inhabitants 
are pure-bred Indians ? What other European nation can show that the 
fourth part of the population of its old colonies is composed of half- 
breeds, resulting from the mixture of conquerors and conquered? 
Among the states of the old continent which colonised America shall 
we find any that can, like Spain, assert that it has civilised the Indians, 
transmitting to them, indeed, all their vices and faults, but also all their 
virtues and noble qualities? It is precisely those who show the greatest 
persistence in depreciating Spain, feeding and stirring up, as they go, 
hatred and rancour, which should be completely extinguished — and 
which, fortunately for America and Spain, are being extinguished — it is 
they who exalt to the skies the wisdom, the moderation and the spirit 
of liberty and equality which characterise the Anglo-Americans. Where, 
it may be demanded of these, are the half-breeds which testify to the 
love of the Anglo-Americans for the native women? Where are the 
Indians whom they have civilized? In the United States of North 
America there are no half-breeds ; and if some few, very few, Indians 
have escaped destruction by hunger and drunkenness, they have Eeen 
remorsely swept from the territory of the Union, watered by them with 
the sweat of their brows, and have been obliged to take refuge in the 
wildernesses of Arkansas. We must admit, to do them strict justice, 
that the Spaniards have treated the Indians best, with whom they have 
ended by mixing, and that neither the English of North America nor 
the Portuguese of South America can show the titles that the former 
have to the consideration of the aborigines." 

The History of South America — By An American... 

Pive hundred 



APPENDIX 

Bull of Donation and Line of Demarcation by Pope Alex- 
andre VI., being the bull of May 4th, 1493, as Englished 
and published by R. Eden, in 1577. 

"Alexander Bishop, the Servant of the Servants of God, to 
our most deare beloved Sonne in Christ, King Kerdinando, 
and to our deare beloved Daughter in Christ, Elizabeth, Queene 
of Castile, Legion, Arragon, Sicilie, and Granata, most Noble 
Princes, greeting, and Apostolicall Benediction. 

Among other Workes acceptable to the Divine Majestic, and 
according to our hearts desire, this cer^ainely is the chief e, that 
the Catholike Faith and Christain Religion, specially in this 
our time, may in all places be exalted, amplified, and enlarged, 
whereby the health of Soules may bee procured, and the bar- 
barous Nations subdued and brought to the Faith. And there- 
fore, whereas by the favour of Gods Clemencie (although not 
without equall deserts) we are called to this holy Seat of Peter, 
and understanding you to be true Catholike Princes, as wee 
have even knowne you, and as your noble and worthy Facts 
have declared in manner to the whole World, in that with all 
your studie, diligence, and industry, you have spared no Tra- 
vails, Charges, or Perils, adventuring even the shedding of 
your owne Bloud, with applying your whole Mindes and En- 
deavours hereunto, as your Noble Expeditions atchieved in 
recovering the Kingdome of Granata from the Tyrannic of the 
Sarracens in these our dayes, doe plainely declare your Facts, 
with so great Glory of the Divine Name. For the which, as 
wee thinke you worthy, so ought wee of our owne free will 
favourably to graunt you all things, whereby you may dayly, 
with more fervent mindes, to the honour of God, and enlarg- 
ing the Christian Empire, prosecute your devout and laudable 
Purpose, most acceptable to the Immortall God. Wee are cred- 
ibly informed, that whereas of late you were determined to 
seeke and finde certaine Hands and firm Lands, farre remote 
and unknowne (and not heretofore found by any other) to the 
intent to bring the Inhabitants of the same to honour our Re- 
deemer, and to prof esse the Catholic Faith, you have hitherto 
beene much occupied in the expugnation and recoverie of the 
Kingdome of Granata, by reason whereof you could not bring 
your said laudable Purpose to the end desired. Nevertheless, 

Pive hundred one 



APPENDIX 

as it hath pleased Almightie God, the foresaid Kingdom being 
recovered, wilHng to accomphsh your said Desire, you have, 
not without great Labour, Perils, and Charges appointed our 
wel beloved Sonne Christopher Colonus (a man certes well 
commended, as most worthy and apt for so great a Matter) 
well furnished with Men and Ships, and other Necessaries, 
to seeke (by the Sea, where hitherto no man hath say led) 
such firme Lands and Hands farre remote and hitherto 
unknowne, who (by Gods helpe) making diligent search 
in ' the Ocean Sea, have found certaine remote Hands 
and firme Lands, which were not heretofore found by any 
other; in the which (as is said) many Nations inhabite, living 
peaceably, and going naked, not accustomed to eate Flesh ; 
and as farre as your Messengers can conjecture; the Nations 
inhabiting the foresaid Lands and Hands, beleeve that there 
is one God, Creator in Heaven, and seeme apt to bee brought 
to the imbracing of the Catholike Faith, and to be endued with 
good Manners : by reason whereof, wee may hope, that if they 
be well instructed, they may easily be induced to receive the 
Name of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Wee are further adver- 
tised, that the fore-named Christopher hath now builded and 
erected a Fortresse, with good Munition, in one of the fore- 
said principall Hands, in the which he hath placed a Garrison 
of certaine of the Christian men that went thither with him, 
as well to the intent to defend the same, as also to search other 
Hands and firme Lands farre remote, and yet unknowne. Wee 
also understand, that in these Lands and Hands lately found, 
is great plentie of Gold and Spices, with divers and many other 
precious things, of sundry kinds and qualities. Therefore all 
things dihgently considered (especially the amplifying and 
enlarging of the Catholike Faith, as it behoveth Catholike 
Princes, following the examples of your Noble Progenitors, 
of famous Memorie) you have determined, by the favour of 
Almightie God, to subject unto you the firme Lands and Hands 
aforesaid, and the Dwellers and Inhabitants thereof, and to 
bring them to the Catholike Faith. 

Wee greatly commending this your godly and laudable pur- 
pose in our Lord, and desirous to have the same brought to a 
due end, and the Name of our Saviour to be knowne in those 
parts, doe exhort you in our Lord, and by the receiving of 
your holy Baptisme, whereby you are bound to Apostolicall 
Obedience, and earnestly require you by the Bowels of Mercie 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that when you intend, for the zeale 
of the Catholike Faith, to prosecute the said Expedition, to 

Five hundred two 



APPENDIX 

reduce the People of the foresaid Lands and Hands to the 
Christian ReHgion, you shall spare no Labours at any time, or 
be deterred with any Perils, conceiving firme hope and con- 
fidence, that the Omnipotent God will give good success to 
your godly Attempts. And that being authorized by the Privi- 
ledge of the Apostolicall Grace, you may the more freely and 
boldly take upon you the Enterprise of so great a Matter, wee 
of our owne motion, and not eyther at your request, or at the 
instant petition of any other persons, but of our owne meere 
liberalitie and certaine science, and by the fullnesse of Apostoli- 
call power, doe give, grant, and designe to you, your heires 
and successors, ail the firme Lands and Hands found or to be 
found, discovered or to be discovered, toward the West and 
South, drawing a Line from the Pole Artike to the Pole Ant- 
artike (that is) from the North to the South : Contayning in 
this Donation, whatsoever firme Lands or Hands are found, 
or to be found toward India, or toward any other part what- 
soever it be, being distant from, or without the foresaid Line, 
drawne a hundred Leagues toward the West, and South, from 
any of the Hands which are commonly called De los Azores and 
Capo Verde. All the Hands therefore, and firme Lands, found 
and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, from the 
said Line toward the West and South, such as have not actually 
beene heretofore possessed by any other Christian King pr 
Prince, untill the day of the Nativitie of our Lord Jesus Christ 
last past, from the which beginneth this present yeere, being the 
yeere of our Lord a thousand foure hundred ninetie three, when 
soever any such shall be found by your Messengers and Cap- 
taines, we by the Authoritie of Almighty God, graunted unto 
us in Saint Peter, and by the Vicarship of Jesus Christ which 
wee beare on the Earth, doe for ever, by the tenour of these 
presents, give, grant, assigne, unto you, your heires and succes- 
sors (the Kings of Castile and Legion) all those Lands and 
Hands, with their Dominions, Territories, Cities, Castles, 
Towers, Places, and Villages, with all the Rights and Juris- 
dictions thereunto pertaining; constituting, assigning, and 
deputing you, your heires and successors, the Lords thereof, 
with full and free Power, Authoritie, and Jurisdiction :_ Decree- 
ing neverthelesse by this our Donation, Grant, and Assignation, 
that from no Christian Prince, which actually hath possessed 
the foresaid Hands and firme Lands, unto the day of the Nati- 
vitie of our Lord beforesaid, their Right obtained, to be under- 
stood hereby to be taken away, or that it ought to be taken 
away. Furthermore, wee command you in the vertue of holy 

Pive hundred three 



APPENDIX 

Obedience (as you have promised, and as wee doubt not you 
will doe, upon meere Devotion and Princely Magnimitie) to 
send to the said firme Lands and Hands, honest, vertuous, and 
learned men, such as feare God, and are able to instruct the 
Inhabitants in the Catholike Faith and good Manners, applying 
all their possible diligence in the premisses. Wee furthermore 
straitly inhibite all manner of persons, of what state, degree, 
order, or condition soever they be, although of Imperiall and 
Regall Dignitie, under the paine of the Sentence of Excommu- 
nication, which they shall incur re, if they doe, to the contrary, 
That they in no case presume, without speciall lyicence of you, 
your heires, and successors, to travaile for Marchandizes, or 
for any other cause, to the said Lands or Hands, found or to be 
found, discovered or to be discovered, toward the West and 
South, drawing a Line from the Pole Artike to the Pole Ant- 
artike, whether the firme Lands and Hands, found and to be 
found, be situate toward India, or toward any other part, 
being distant from the Line drawne a hundred Leagues toward 
the West, from any of the Hands commonly called De los 
Azores and Capo Verde: Notwithstanding Constitutions, De- 
crees, and Apostolicall Ordinances whatsoever they are to 
the contrary. In him from whom Empires, Dominions, and 
all good things doe proceed: Trusting, that Almightie God, 
directing your Enterprises, if you follow your godly and laud- 
able Attempts, your Labours and Travailes herein, shall in 
short time obtaine a happie end, with felicitie and glorie of all 
Christian People. But forasmuch as it should be a thing of 
great difficultie, these Letters to be carried to all such places as 
should be expedient; wee will, and of like motion and knowl- 
edge doe decree. That whither soever the same shall be sent, or 
wheresoever they shall be received, with the subscription of a 
common Notarie thereunto required, with the Seale of any 
person constitute in Ecclesiasticall Court, the same faith and 
credite to be given thereunto in Judgement, or elsewhere, as 
should be exhibited to these Presents. 

Let no man therefore whatsoever infringe or dare rashly to 
contrary this Letter of our Commendation, Exhortation, Re- 
quest, Donation, Grant, Assignation, Constitution, Deputation, 
Decree, Commandement, Inhibition, and Determination. And 
if any shall presume to attempt the same, let him know, that hee 



Five hundred four 



APPENDIX 

shall thereby incurre the Indignation of Almighty God, and 
his holy Apostles, Peter and Paul. 

Given at Rome at Saint Peters, In the yeere of the 

Incarnation of our Lord 1493. The fourth day of th. 

Nones of May, the first yeere of our Popedome." 

[Copied from Haklytus Posthumus or Purchas His Pilgrimes. The 
original document is in Latin, and preserved in the Archivo de Indias, 
in Seville. As a matter of fact, three papal bulls virere issued on the 
donation and division of the New World, within two days; two on 
May 3d, and one on May 4th, 1493. Latin and Spanish texts are found 
in Navarrete, and in the Col. de Doc. Ined. Harisse calls the bull 
of donation the first document in the diplomatic history of America.] 



El Requerimiento. 
(The Requisition or Requirement). 

"On the part of the King, Don Fernando, and of Dona Juana 
his daughter, Queen of Castile and Leon, subduers of the bar- 
barous nations, we their servants notify and make known to 
you, as best we can, that the Lord our God, Living and Eternal, 
created the Heaven and the Earth, and one man and one woman, 
of whom you and we, and all the men of the world, were and are 
descendants, and all those who come after us. But, on account 
of the multitude which has sprung from this man and woman 
in the five thousand years since the world was created, it was 
necessary that some men should be divided into many kingdoms 
and provinces, for in one alone they could not be sustained. 

"Of all these nations God our Lord gave charge to one man, 
called St. Peter, that he should be Lord and Superior of all 
the men in the world, that all should obey him, and that he 
should be the head of the whole human race, wherever men 
should live, and under whatever law, sect, or belief they should 
be ; and he gave him the world for his kingdom and jurisdiction. 

"And he commanded him to place his seat in Rome, as the 
spot most fitting to rule the world from ; but also he permitted 
him to have his seat in any other part of the world, and to 
judge and govern all Christians, ]\Ioors, Jews, Gentiles, and all 
other sects. This man was called Pope, as if to say, Admirable 
Great Father and Governor of men. The men who lived in 
that time obeyed that St. Peter, and took him for Lord, King, 
and Superior of tlie universe; so also they have regarded the 

Five hundred five 



APPENDIX 

others who after him have been elected to the pontificate, and 
so has it been continued even till now, and will continue till the 
end of the world. 

"One of these Pontiffs, who succeeded that St. Peter as Lord 
of the world, in the dignity and seat which I have before men- 
tioned, made donation of these isles and Tierra-firme to the 
aforesaid King and Queen and to their successors, our lords, 
with all that there are in these territories, as is contained in 
certain writings which passed upon the subject as aforesaid, 
which you can see if you wish. 

"So their Highnesses are kings and lords of these islands and 
land of Tierra-firme by virtue of this donation : and some 
islands, and indeed almost all those to whom this has been 
notified, have received and served their Highnesses, as lords 
and kings, in the way that subjects ought to do, with good will, 
without any resistance, immediately, without delay, when they 
were informed of the aforesaid facts. And also they received 
and obeyed the priests whom their Highnesses sent to preach to 
them and to teach them our Holy Faith ; and all these, of their 
own free will, without any reward or condition, have become 
Christians, and are so, and their Highnesses have joyfully and 
benignantly received them, and also have commanded them to 
be treated as their subjects and vassals; and you too are held 
and obliged to do the same. Wherefore, as best we can, we 
ask and require you that you consider what we have said to 
you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to under- 
stand and deliberate upon it, and that you acknowledge the 
Church as the Ruler and Superior of the whole world, and the 
high priest called Pope, and in his name the King and Queen 
Doiia Juana our lords, in his place, as superiors and lords and 
kings of these islands and this Tierra-firme by virtue of the said 
donation, and that you consent and give place that these relig- 
ious fathers should declare and preach to you the aforesaid. 

"If you do so, you will do well, and that which you are 
obliged to do to their Highnesses, and we in their name shall 
receive you in all love and charity, and shall leave you your 
wives, and your children, and your lands, free without servitude, 
that you may do with them and with yourselves freely that 
which you like and think best, and they shall not compell you 
to turn Christians, unless you yourselves, when informed of 
the truth, should wish to be converted to our Holy Catholic 
Faith, as almost all the inhabitants of the rest of the islands 
have done. And, besides this, their Highnesses award you 

Five hundred six 



APPENDIX 

many privileges and exemptions, and will grant you many 
benefits. 

"But, if you do not do this, and maliciously make delay 
in it, I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall power- 
fully enter into your country, and shall make war against you 
in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to 
the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their Highnesses ; 
we shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall 
make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them 
as their Highnesses may command ; and we shall take away 
your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that 
we can, as to vassals who do not obey, and refuse to receive 
their lord, and resist and contradict him ; and we protest that 
the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your 
fault, and not that of their Highnesses, or ours, nor of these 
cavaliers who come with us. And that we have said this to you 
and made this Requisition, we request the notary here present 
to give us his testimony in writing, and we ask the rest who 
are present that they should be witnesses of this Requisition." 
Sir Arthur Helps, Spanish Conquest in America, vol. i, 
p. 264. 



Treaty between the Council of Caledonia and Chief Diego 
of Darien. 

"Treaty of Friendship, Union, and perpetual Confederation, 
agreed and entred into between the Right Hon^le the Council 
of Caledonia, and the excellent Diego Tucuapantos and Es- 
trara, Chief and Supreme Leader of the Indians Inhabitants 
of the lands and possessions in and about the Rivers of Darieno 
and St. Matolome. 

The said Diego having signifyed his earnest desire to enter 
into an entire friendship and strict allyance with the said 
Council and Colony; The same is hereby agreed to and con- 
cluded in the termes following, viz. — 

1. The said Council of Caledonia and the said Diego, and 
the people of their respective obedience, shall from hencefor- 
ward be friends and confederates, and are hereby obliged mutu- 
ally to defend the persons, lands, territories, dependencies, and 
properties of each other by land and sea. 

2. The aforesaid Council and the said Diego, their people 
and defendants, may freely pass and repass and shall mutually 
have the liberty of commerce, correspondence, and manuring, 

Pive hundred seven 



APPBNDIX 

possessing, and enjoying lands in the countrys and places of 
their respective obedience in all time hereafter. 

3. If any of the people under the obedience of the said Coun- 
cil, or the said Diego, shall hapen to wrong or injure one 
another, the person or persons injured shall make their com- 
plaint, and in such case the respective partys to this treaty, their 
Magistrates and people, shall take effectual care that exact and 
speedy justice be done, and that things of that nature extend 
not to the weakning of this perpetual confederation. 

4. It is hereby likeways agreed that Captain Corbet of Con- 
ception River, Cap.^^ Ambrosio of Coco, Cap.^ Nicola of Sept, 
Cap.ii Pansego of Carreta, and Cap.^^ Pedro of Golden Island, 
and their people shall, upon application, be admitted into this 
treaty. 

5. If anything in this treaty shall afterward want explanation 
or enlargement the same shall be done from time to time by 
consent of the partys to this confederation. 

Which treaty above written having been interpret and ex- 
plained to the said Diego, the said Council, for Confirmation 
and the greater solemnity thereof, have ordered their Secretary 
in their own presence to subscribe his name and afix their seal 
thereto ; and the said Diego hath put his mark to the same, at 
Fort St. Andrew the 24th Febry, 1699." 

"A copy in Spanish was likewise given him." — The Darien 
Papers/' page 87. 



Comandantes Generales, Presidentes. 
y Gobernadores del Reyno de Tierra-Firme. 

1. Don Pedro Arias Davila, natural de Segovia, hermano del 
Conde de Puno-en-rostro, elegido por el Emperador, en virtud 
de los creditos que tenia, para mandar en el Darien el ano de 
1 5 14, donde sin embargo de las grandes cosas que hizo 
obscurecio su gloria el haber mandado cortar la cabeza por 
pasiones a Vasco Nunez de Balboa en el Darien y a Francisco 
Fernandez de Cordoba en Nicaragua, goberno hasta el ano 
1526 que llego su succesor. 

2. Don Pedro de los Rios, natural de Cordoba, nombrado por 
las quexas y clamores contra el anterior, por muerte del Licen- 
ciado Lope de Sosa, tambien de Cordoba, que fue nombrado 
primero, y murio apenas llego al Darien; pero siguiendo los 

Five hundred eight 



APPENDIX 

clamores se envio por Juez de residencia al Licenciado Antonio 
de la Gama, y por successor en el gobierno del aiio de 1528 a 

3. Francisco de Barrionuevo, natural de Soria, acreditado 
en las conquistas de la Isla de Puerto-rico, y en la de Santo 
Domingo, provisto para Gobernador de Tierra-Firme el afio de 
1532; pero habiendo tenido comision de pasar a la pacificacion 
del Cazique Enrique en la Isla Espaiiola, tomo posession el 
de 1533. 

4. El Licenciado Pedro Vazquez de Acuiia, que fue nom- 
brado Gobernador y Juez de residencia del anterior, por cuyas 
quexas se envio a poco tiempo a 

5. El Doctor Francisco Robles con la misma comision que su 
antecesor, siendo Oidor de aquella Audiencia, y se encargo del 
gobierno, desempeiiandolo con tanta integridad y justificacion 
que ha tenido pocos exemplares en aquel pais, donde el clima 6 
algun influxo maligno sembro la semilla de la discordia, como 
se vera en la serie de la mayor parte de sus Goberndores : este 
entro a su exercicio el afio de 1539, y sin embargo de sus buenas 
calidades no se libro de enredos y calumnias. 

6. Pedro de Casaos, natural de Sevilla, que con titulo de Cor- 
regidor de Panama fue nombrado por el Rey para gobernarla, 
en cuyo tiempo sucedieron las tragedias y robos que hizo 
Hernando Bachicao, Capitan de Gonzalo Pizarro, para cuyo 
remedio le nombro la Audiencia y el Cabildo Capitan General. 

7. El Licenciado Don Pedro Ramirez de Quiiiones, primer 
Presidente con titulo de tal de aquella Audiencia que pacific© 
el Reyno de las alteraciones pasadas, hizo la guerra al Negro 
Bayono que lo tenia hostigado con sus robos y correrias, cuyo 
castigo en que sirvio el celebre Pedro de Ursua tranquilizo el 
pais. 

8. Juan de Bustos Villegas paso de Gobernador de la Plaza de 
Cartagena a Panama el aiio de 1551, murio alii arrastrado de 
una mula. 

9. El Licenciado Juan Lopez de Cepeda paso de Oidor 
Decano de la Isla de Santo Domingo a la de Santa Fe, de alii a 
Alcalde del Crimen de la Audiencia de Lima, luego a Presidente 
de Panama, y promovido a Charcas el aiio de 1588. 

10. El Licenciado Francisco de Cardenas, ultimo Presidente 
Togado que hubo por haberse establecido la Comandancia 
General del Reyno de Tierra-Firme, y Plaza de Armas la 
Ciudad de Panama su Capital, murio el aiio de 1594. 

11. Don Juan del Barrio Sepulveda, Oidor Decano de la Real 
Audiencia, quedo encargado interinamente del gobierno por 
muerte del anterior, y lo estaba exerciendo quando llego. 

Five hundred nine 



APPENDIX 

12. Don Alonso de Sotomayor y Andia, Marques de Valpa- 
raiso, Comendador de Villamayor en la 6rden de Santiago, 
natural de Truxillo en Estremadura, Oficial de grandes creditos 
en Flandes y en Chile, donde habia gobernado con sumo acierto 
y gloria de las armas del Rey, se hallaba en Lima para resti- 
tuirse a Europa quando le nombro Presidente de Panama el 
Virrey Marques de Canete, para defender el Reyno de un 
Armamento Ingles que se temia ser para alii, como sucedio, 
logrando con tan acertada eleccion su defensa, y la derrota total 
de los enemigos, goberno hasta el ano de 1596 que paso a 
Espafia. 

13. El referido Juan del Barrio Sepulveda, Oidor Decano 
de la Audiencia, volvio a encargarse del gobierno interinamente 
hasta el ano de 1601 que volvio 

14. El mismo Don Alonso de Sotomayor, nombrado por el 
Rey en consideracion de su acertada conducta y sobresaliente 
merito para fortificar la Plaza de Portobelo, en compaiiia del 
famoso Ingeniero Juan Baptista Antoneli, y executado, aunque 
recibio Real despacho para volver a gobernar el Reyno de Chile, 
se embarco para Europa el ano de 1605. 

15. Don Diego de Orozco, natural de Lima, de quien no 
tenemos mas noticia que la de haber sido Presidente de Panama 
por este tiempo. 

16. Don Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco; en cuyo tiempo se 
empezo la reduccion y conquista espiritual de los Indios Gua- 
mies en la Provincia de Veragua por los Religiosos del Orden 
de Santo Domingo, acabo su gobierno el ano de 1624. 

17. Don Alvaro de Quinones Osorio, Cabellero del Orden 
de Santiago, Marques de Lorenzana, goberno hasta el ano de 
1632 que paso promovido a la Presidencia de Guatemala. 

18. Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera paso promovido 
de la Presidencia y Capitania General de las Islas Filipinas el 
ano de 1634, habiendo tenido le de Panama solo dos afios. 

19. Don Enrique Enriquez de Sotomayor paso promovido del 
gobierno de Puerto-rico a esta Presidencia, que exercio hasta el 
ano de 1638 en que murio, con tanto sentimiento por sus grandes 
qualidades que se escribio una Oracion en su elogio, que despues 
se imprimio en esta Corte. 

20. Don Inigo de la Mota Sarmiento, Cabellero del Orden de 
Santiago, Gentil-Hombre de Camara del Archiduque Alberto, y 
del Consejo Supremo y Junta de Guerra, paso promovido del 
gobierno de Puerto-rico como su antecesor el ano de 1639, y 
murio en Portobelo asistiendo al despacho de la Armada de 

Pive hundred ten 



APPENDIX 

Galeones del cargo del General Don Francisco Diaz Pimienta el 
alio de 1642. 

21. Don Juan de Vega Bazan, General que habia sido de 
Galeones, nombrado Presidente, Gobernador y Comandante 
General del Reyno de Tierra-Firme por muerte del anterior 
el ano de 1643. 

22. Don Juan de Bitribeante y Navarra, Cabellero del 6rden 
de Calatrava, murio en Portobelo asistiendo al despacho de la 
Armada de Galeones del cargo del General Don Juan de Echa- 
varri el ano de 1651, como consta de la lapida de marmol que 
puso en su sepultura en la Iglesia Parroquial de Portobelo su 
Gobernador y intimo amigo Don Bernardo de Texada. 

23. Don Fernando de la Riva Aguero, Caballero del 6rden 
de Santiago, Maestre de Campo, Gobernador de Cartagena de 
Indias quando fue nombrado Presidente de Panama, murio 
tambien en Puertobelo asistiendo al despacho de la Armada de 
Galeones del Marques de Villarubia el ano de 1663. 

24. Don Juan Perez de Guzman, Cabellero del 6rden de 
Santiago, Maestre de Campo, Gobernador de Cartagena, des- 
pues de haber seguido los empleos de la Milicia en la Armada 
de la carrera de Indias, y sido Gobernador de Antioquia y de 
Puerto-rico, fue promovido a esta Presidencia por muerte del 
anterior el ano de 1665, paso a recuperar la Isla de Santa 
Catalina que habia tomado el Pirata Ingles Juan Morgan, y 
sin embargo fue suspendido del empleo por el Virrey del Peru, 
Conde de Lemos, en virtud de varios cargos que le hacia Don 
Bernardo Trillo de Figueroa, Oidor Decano de aquella 
Audiencia. 

25. Don Agustin de Bracamonte nombrado interinamente por 
el Virrey del Peru para la separacion de Don Juan Perez, y 
pesquisa de los cargos que se le hacian. 

26. El mismo Don Juan Perez, reintegrado en sus empleos 
por no haberse justificado nada de lo que se le acomulaba, tuvo 
la desgracia de que en su tiempo sucediese la ruina y perdida 
de aquella ciudad tomada por el Pirata Ingles el ano de 1670, 
por lo qual fue depuesto segunda vez por el mismo Virrey 
Conde de Lemos, que lo hizo conducir preso a Lima, dando 
cuenta al Rey. 

27. Don Antonio Fernandez de Cordoba, Cabellero del Orden 
de Santiago, nombrado por el Rey luego que se supo la desgra- 
cia de Panama, con orden de trasladar la Ciudad a mejor 
parage, se embarco para su destino Uevando porcion de tropa 

Five hundred eleven 



APPBNDIX 

que llamaron alii la Chamberga, y empezo a poner en execucion 
sus or denes el ano de 1671 que llego, pero la muerte le impedio 
concluirlas el de 1673. 

28. Don Francisco Miguel de Marichalar, Alcalde del Crimen 
de la Real Audiencia de Lima, enviado interinamente por el 
Virrey Conde de Lemos, y exercio el gobierno hasta que llego 
el propietario nombrado por el Rey el afio de 1676. 

29. Don Alonso Mercado de Villacorta, Sergento General de 
Batalla, que se hallaba sirviendo el gobierno de las Provincias 
del Tucuman, donde habia hecho senalados servicios al Rey, 
fue promovido a esta Presidencia, y traslado la Ciudad como 
estaba mandado al mejor parage en que hoy existe, dando 
principo a su fortificacion como se ve en la inscripcion que hay 
sobre la Puerta de Tierra y antes de concluir la obra murio 
el ano de 1681. 

30. El Dr. Don Lucas Fernandez de Piedrahita, natural de 
Santa Fe, Obispo de la Santa Iglesia de Panama, y Autor 
celebre de la Historia de la Conquista del Nuevo Reyno de 
Granada, entro por muerte del anterior, y nombramiento del 
Virrey del Peru, Conde del Castellar, contenido a prevencion en 
pliego secreto y cerrado en el Archive del Acuerdo de la Real 
Audiencia para que no recayese el gobierno en ninguno de sus 
Ministros; y aunque el acierto se confirmo con sus virtudes, 
duro muy poco, porque al atio siguiente de 1682 llego el pro- 
pietario. 

31. Don Pedro Ponte y Llerena, Conde del Palmar, que fue 
en los Galeones del Marques del Bao, y tomo posesion, siendo el 
unico Presidente que ha cumplido el tiempo de los ocho afios 
de la provision del empleo, sin embargo de cargos con que lo 
capitularon los Ministros de aquella Audiencia. 

32. Don Pedro Joseph Guzman, Davalos, Ponce de Leon, 
Santillan y Mesia, Marques de la Mina, natural de Sevilla, 
General de la Artilleria, que en premio de sus distinguidos ser- 
vicios en mar y tierra fue nombrado Presidente de Panama 
y Comandante General del Reyno, de que tomo posesion al ano 
de 1690, y goberno cinco afios, hasta el de 1695 que fue 
separado por comision que se dio al Obispo para justificar los 
cargos que tres Ministros de aquella Audiencia le hicieron, en 
cuya execucion se procedio con tanto encono y tropelia, que no 
hay exemplo de las que sufrio preso en un calabozo del castillo 
de Chagre, sin permitirle comunicacion por mas de quatro afios. 

33. El Dr. Don Diego Ladron de Guevara, Obispo de 

Five hundred twelve 



APPENDIX 

aquella Santa Iglesia, encargado del gobierno de orden del Rey 
hasta la llegada del propietario que fue 

34. Don Pedro Luis Henriquez de Guzman, Conde de Canil- 
las, Cabellero del Orden de Calatrava, Corregidor de Potosi, 
tomo posesion el ano de 1696 hasta el de 1699, que por los 
clamores de aquel vecindado, y quexas de las violencias que 
sigio executando con el Marques de la Mina, se la nombro 
succesor a 

35. Don Joseph Antonio de la Rocha y Carranza, Mques de 
Villa-Rocha, Cabellero del Orden de Calatrava, General de la 
Artilleria, que entro a la posesion de la Presidencia el ano de 
1699; pero a los seis meses recibio una Cedula Real para que 
entregase el gobierno al mismo 

36. Don Pedro Luis Henriquez de Guzman, Conde de Canil- 
las, en inteligencia de las grandes cosas que informo falsamente 
habia hecho para la defensa del Reyno, y por el recelo del 
establecimiento que habian hecho los Escoceses en el Darien, a 
cuyo desalojo se le mandaba pasar, como al Gobernador de 
Cartagena Don Juan Diaz Pimienta, que fue el que lo executo ; 
y sin embargo con el aviso anticipado que envio el Conde del 
suceso, sin decir quien lo habia hecho, le premio el Rey con el 
Virreynato del Peru, que no pudo lograr, pues murio a muy 
poco tiempo de recibir la noticia el mismo ano de 1699. 

37. Don Fernando Davila Bravo de Laguna, Caballero del 
Orden de Santiago, Sargento General de Batalla, natural de 
Lima, entro el ano de 1702, y goberno hasta el de 1707 que 
murio. 

38. Don Juan Eustaquio Vincentelo, Tello, Toledo y Leca, 
Marques de Brenes, Cabellero del Orden de Santiago, natural 
de Sevilla, nombrado interinamente quando murio el anterior 
por el Marques de Casteldos-rius, Virrey del Peru, que se 
hallaba en Panama de transito para su destino, solo goberno 
algo mas de cinco meses por haber entrado. 

39. El ya referido Marques de Villa-Rocha, que tuvo Real 
despacho para verificar la provision de su empleo, y no fue 
de mas larga duracion, pues a pocos dias se recibio otra Real 
Cedula separandole del empleo por diferentes cargos que le 
habian hecho, cometido a la Audiencia, que sin embargo de la 
clausula condicional se abrogo la Presidencia el Decano. 

40. Don Fernando de Haro Monterroso, y la exercio seis 
meses, hasta el afio de 1709 que el Virrey del Peru envio otro 
Ministro de la Audiencia de Lima, para procesarle por los 

Ptve hundred thirteen 



APPENDIX 

excesos que habia cometido, remitiendolo preso en Partida de 
Registro a Espana, y murio en la Carcel de Corte de Madrid. 

41. Don Juan Baptista de Orueta y Irusta, Alcalde del 
Crimen de la Real Audiencia de Lima^ comisionado para la 
deposicion y pesquisa del antecesor, goberno hasta el ano sig- 
uiente de 1710 en que llego el propietario nombrado por el 
Rey, y el se restituyo a Lima al exercicio de su Plaza. 

42. Don Joseph de Larrafieta y Vera, Brigadier de los Reales 
Exercitos, que se hallaba sirviendo el Gobierno de Portobelo 
con la calidad de obcion a la Presidencia y Capitania General 
del Reyno en caso de vacante de propietario, por Cedula Real 
de nombramiento en aquel empleo, como teniente de Rey, entro 
a tomar posesion luego que la recibio a principio del ano de 

1710, y goberno hasta mitad del siguiente de 171 1 que llegaron 
dos successores al mismo tiempo : 

43. Uno el mencionado ya dos veces Marques de Villa- 
Rocha, restituido la tercera a titulo de honor en desagravio del 
exceso con se habia procedido en su segunda separacion por el 
tiempo que tardase en llegar el propietario nombrado por S. M. 
y fue tan corto que solo se conto por horas, pues habiendo 
venido a la Capital desde el fuerte de Chepo, donde se hallaba 
preso, tomo posesion, y el mismo dia entro a las cinco de la 
tarde 

44. Don Joseph Hurtado de Amezaga, Mariscal de Campo de 
los Reales Exercitos, que tomo posesion el referido ano de 

171 1, y goberno hasta el de 171 6 que fue depuesto de or den del 
Rey, cometiendo su separacion al Obispo de aquella Iglesia, y 
extinguiendo al mismo tiempo el Tribunal de la Audiencia. 

45. Don Fr, Juan Joseph de Llamas y Rivas, del Orden de 
nuestra Sefiora del Carmen, Obispo de Panama, que por la 
comision referida quedo encargado del gobierno desde el citado 
aiio de 1716 hasta el de 1718 en que llego 

46. Don Geronimo Vadillo, Brigadier de los Reales Exer- 
citos, promovido del gobierno de Cartagena que estaba exer- 
ciendo, con el nuevo establecimiento de cinco anos de provision 
en los Gobiernos que no hay Audiencia, y cumplio el de 1723. 

47. Don Caspar Perez Buelta, Oidor que habia sido de la 
extinguida Audiencia, que habiendo mandado el Rey volverla 
a restablecer el mismo aho de 1723, goberno interinamente 
como Decano tres meses y medio, hasta que se embarco para 
pasar al Peru promovido a la Audiencia de Lima a principios 
del de 1724. 

Five hundred fourteen 



APPENDIX 

48. Don Joseph De Alzamora y Ursino quedo Decano de la 
Audiencia por el ascenso del anterior, y como tal encargado 
interinamente del Gobierno, Presidencia y Comandancia General 
poco mas de un mes hasta la llegada del propietario. 

49. Don Manuel de Alderete, Caballero del Crden de San- 
tiago, Mariscal de Campo de los Reales Exercitos, fue promo- 
vido de teniente de Rey de la Plaza de Cadiz a esta Presidencia 
en los galeones del teniente General Marques Grillo, y tomo 
posesion el aiio de 1724, goberno hasta el de 1730 en que fue 
depuesto, y preso en el castillo de Chepo, y luego remitido en 
Partida de Registro a la Casa de la Contratacion, en la fragata 
de guerra la la Ginovesa, que se perdio sobre el baxo de la 
Vivora, donde se ahogo. 

50. Don Juan Joseph de Andia, Vivero y Velasco, Marques 
de Villahermosa, Mariscal de Campo, que se hallaba sirviendo 
el Gobierno de Cartagena, fue promovido a la Presidencia de 
Panama, con la comision de deponer a su antecesor, el referido 
aiio de 1730; y habiendo solicitado licencia para restituirse a 
Espaiia se la concedio S. M. ascendiendole al grado de teniente 
General el aiio de 1735, y a poco tiempo de su llegada la 
Grandeza, con titula de Marques de Valparaiso, 

51. Don Dionisio Martinez de la Vega, Mariscal de Campo de 
los Reales Exercitos, paso promovido del Gobierno de la 
Havana a relevar al anterior el citado aiio de 1735, y exercio 
el gobierno hasta el de 1743 en que llego el successor nombrado 
por S. M., que en remuneracion de haber hecho la paz con los 
Indios del Darien le promovio al grado de teniente General, 
concediendole Have de entrada de Gentil-Hombre de su 
Camara: en su tiempo tomaron los Ingleses mandados por el 
Almirante Wernon la Ciudad de Portobelo y castillo de Chagre, 
murio en Panama el aiio de 1744 estando disponiendo su viage 
para Espafia. 

52. Don Dionisio de Alcedo y Herrera, que habia servido 
la Presidencia de Quito y Comandancia General de este Reyno, 
se hallaba en la Corte quando fue nombrado por el Rey para 
pasar a servir esta de Panama, y encargase de la defensa del de 
Tierra-Firme, objeto de los Ingleses en la guerra que habian 
declarado desde el aiio de 1739, con particular encargo de 
diferentes comisiones del Real servicio, por su notoria inteligen- 
cia, conocimiento de la America y zelo del Real servicio, que 
desempeiio desde el aiio de 1743 en que tomo posesion hasta el 
de 1749 que fue separado del empleo por diferentes cargos 



Pive hundred fifteen 



APPENDIX 

con que la habian cakimniado los Oidores de aquella Audiencia, 
origen siempre de las discordias de esta Provincia. Durante 
su gobierno castigo los contravandistas de la de Nata, que en 
numero de mas de doscientos, auxiliados de los Ingleses, se 
habian sublevado tomando armas contra las de S. M., vino a 
Madrid, y fue absuelto de los cargos honorificamente. 

53. Don Manuel de Montiano, Mariscal de Campo de los 
Reales Exercitos, paso promovido del gobierno de la Florida, 
y entro en Panama el mismo afio de 1749, en cuyo tiempo se 
extinguio la Audiencia el siguiente en virtud de los informes 
que hizo su antecesor, como unico medio de establecer la paz y 
harmonia de aquel Reyno turbada por las continuas competen- 
cias de este Tribunal sobre todas materias, como acredito la 
tranquilidad del gobierno de este hasta el afio de 1758 en que 
llego su succesor. 

54. Don Antonio Guill, Coronel del Regimiento de Infanteria 
de Guadalaxara, sugeto de acreditado talento, virtud y pericia 
militar, cuyas qualidades le hicieron sumamente estimado en su 
gobierno, con el sentimiento de su corta duracion por haber 
pasado promovido a la Presidencia y Capitania General de 
Chile el afio de 1761. 

55. Don Joseph Raon, Brigadier de los Reales Exercitos, 
goberno poco mas de dos afios por haber pasado promovido 
a la Presidencia y Capitania General de las Islas Filipinas el 
aiio de 1763. 

56. Don Joseph Blasco de Orozco, Cabellero del 6rden de 
San Juan, Coronel del Regimiento de Infanteria de Burgos, 
paso a servir este Gobierno el referido afio, y murio alii el 
de 1767. 

57. Don Vicente de Olaziregui, Coronel del Regimiento de 
Infanteria de Granada, destinado a este Gobierno de Panama 
el afio de 1769, murio el de 1773. 

58. Don Pedro Carbonel, Coronel del Regimiento de Infan- 
teria de Aragon, nombrado el afio de 1775, goberno hasta el de 
1779, en que le llego el succesor. 

59. Don Ramon de Carvajal, Coronel de Infanteria, que 
se hallaba sirviendo el Gobierno de Vique en el Principado de 
Catalufia quando fue destinado al de Guayaquil en el Reyno de 
Quito, y antes de tomar posesion promovido a este de Panama 
el afio de 1780, y lo exercio hasta el de 1785 que nombro el Rey 
para succederle a 



Pive hundred sixteen 



APPENDIX 

60. Don Joseph Domas, Brigadier de la Real Armada, nom- 
brado el refendo afio de 1785, que actualmente gobierna. 

Diccionario Geogrdfico-Historico de las Indias Occidentales 
O America, fomo iv. pags. 38-49, per el Coronel Don Antonio 
de Alcedo. Madrid, 1788. 

[This list is copied verbatim, and the reader is advised that 
it contains a few errors.] 



Five hundred seventeen 



\ \ 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



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Cooper, W. D. — The History of South America. IvOndon, 

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DariEn, History of Caledonia. London, 1699. 

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ExQuEMELiN, Alexandre Olivier — The history of the Bucaniers 
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FabEns, Joseph W. — A story of life on the Isthmus. New 

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Darien. Edinburgh, 1709. 
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que. Paris, 1892. 
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HARRisse, Henry — Christophe Colomb. Paris, 1884-85. 2 
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Hazard, Samuel — Santo Domingo. New York, 1873. 

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Headli^y, J. T. — Darien exploring expedition. Harper's Maga- 
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historica, y geographica. Madrid, 1749. 
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1878. 2 vols. 
KeasbEy, Lindley M. — The Nicaragua canal and the Monroe 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 

LoBO, Miguel — Historia general de las antiguas colonias. 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Oris, Fessenden N. — Isthmus of Panama. New York, 1867. 

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Paterson, William — Central America. London, 1857. 

Payne, Edward J. — History of the European Colonies. Lon- 
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Payne, Edward J. — Voyages of the Elizabethan Seamen. 
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Peacock, George — Notes on the Isthmus of Panama & Darien. 
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PERAi^ta, Manuel Maria de — Costa Rica, Nicaragua, y 
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PERaeta, Manuel Maria de — Costa Rica y Colombia de 1573 
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PrESCOTT, William H. — History of the conquest of Peru. New 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Raynai., Guillaume T. F. — Histoire Philosophique et Po- 
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Ridpath^ George — Scotland's grievances relating to Darien. 

Edinburgh, 1699. 
Ringrose;^ Basil — The dangerous voyage and bold attempts of 

Captain B. Sharp. London, 1684, 
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America. Edinburgh, 1827. 
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4 vols. 

Robinson, Tracy — Panama, 1861-1907. Panama, 1907. 

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SeEmann, Berthold — History of the isthmus of Panama. 
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London, 1827. 3 vols. 
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Chiapas, and Yucatan. New York, 1841. 2 vols. 

Five hundred twenty-seven 



^ \ 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Stevens, Henry — Historical and geographical notes on the 
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ToRRENTE, Mariano — Historia de la revolucion hispano-ameri- 

cana. Madrid, 1829-30. 3 vols. 
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orden de Sa Magestad a la America Meridional. Madrid, 

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las Indias. Madrid, 1894. 

ViGNAUD, Henry — Toscanelli and Columbus- New York, 
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Wafer, Lionel — A New Voyage and Description of the 

Isthmus of America. London, 1699. 
Warburton, Eliot — Darien ; or, the merchant prince. London, 

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Weir, Hugh C. — The conquest of the Isthmus. New York, 
1909. 

Pive hundred twenty-eight 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

We;is4 Arthur James — The discoveries of America to the year 

1525. New York, 1884. 
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principal objects of the prefent War in the, Printed for 

T. Gardner. London, 1741. 
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WhBe;i.wright, William — Observations on the Isthmus of 

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WiNSOR, Justin — Narrative and Critical History of America. 

Boston, 1889. 8 vols. 
Wysb, Lucien N. B. — Le Canal de Panama. Paris, 1886. 



Up to the year 1900, the Library of Congress gives a list of 
books and articles in periodicals relating to interoceanic canal 
and railway routes, compiled by Hugh A. Morrison. With this 
is bound a bibliography of United States Public Documents on 
the subject of interoceanic communication, prepared in the 
office of the Superintendent of Documents. Washington, 
G. P. O., 1900. 



Pive hundred twenty-nine 



INDEX 



Aeenameche, Indian chief in Darien, 
1 6s; fights the Spaniards, i66. 

Abibeiba, Indian chief on the Isthmus 
of Darien, 165, fights the Spaniards, 
166. 

Aborigines of the Isthmus, 319, built 
no masonry, 319, medicine-men and 
priests, 320, ethnographic division, 
320, albinos, gray eyes, moon-eyed, 
322, dress and habitations, 328, 331, 
described by Andagoya 331, spoke one 
language 332, see also Indians, Cunas, 
Dariens, Guaimis, San Bias, Va- 
lientes. 

Abraiba, Indian chief in Darien, 165, 
fights the Spaniards, 166. 

Abrayme, tree-top Indians, 328. 

Aburena, 93 ; see also Chiriqui Lagoon. 

Acapulco, west port of Mexico, 300, 
313, Drake at, 360. 

Ada, "Bones of Men," 15, first of a 
line of posts across the Isthmus, 196, 
destroyed by Indians, 201, rebuilt by 
Balboa, 201, Balboa beheaded at, 207, 
site of forgotten, 283, 284, decline of 
and removal advised, 304, province 
of. 330, 479, 487, 494, see also 
Caledonia Bay. 

Acul, bay of, 58. 

Adventurers, 66, 71, 478. 

Africa, 30, 31, 32, 79, 82. 

Aglaseniqua, river, 487. 

Aguado, Juan, supersedes Columbus on 
Hispaniola, 75. 

Aguadulce, formerly Trinidad, 25. 

Aguilar, Geronimo de, escapes being 
eaten, 164. 

Ahkin Xooc, enslaves the Spaniards, 
163. 

Aillon, Lucas V. de, 307. 

Airiau, A., absurb statements, 298, 

Alaja Rock, in mouth of Chagres, 411. 

Alaminos, Antonio de, pilot, 90. 

Alanje, or Chiriqui, ancient capital of 
Chiriqui province, 26, founded by B. 
Hurtado, 27, by Anasco, 287, 

Alarconcillo, Juan Rodriguez de, alcalde 
mayor with Lope de Sosa, takes the 



residencia of Pedrarias, 214, hears 
charges by Oviedo, 215. 

Albites, Diego de, 20, 27, mission to 
Nicuesa, 152, 185, raids Chagre prov" 
ince, 192, at Chagre and Veragua, 
212, permanently establishes Nombre 
de Dios 213, 225, 299, in command 
at Nata, 228, 250. 

Alcalde mayor, see Glossary. 

Alcandete, Alonso, Spanish commander 
at Old Panama, 420, at Chepo, 440. 

Alcedo, Antonio de, 313. 

Alcon, Pedro, at island of Gallo, 241. 

Aldana, Lorenzo de, 262. 

Alexander VI., Pope, confirms title of 
Spain to discovery in the virest, 65, 
86, 132, 14B, 176, 184, 378, see also 
Bull of Donation. 

Alexandre, Bras-de-Fer, buccaneer 
chief, 374, like Alexander, 389, 380. 

Alfergany, Arabian astronomer, 34. 

Alguacil, 60. 

Alhajuela, town, 7. 

Aliaco, Pedro de. Cardinal Pierre d' 
Ailly, stated India could be reached 
in a few days' sail fiom Spain, 33, 
author of Imago Mundi, 35. 

Alligators, at first called crocodiles, 
92, 144. 

Alligators, River of, see Chagres. 

Allison, or Alleston, Robert, buccaneer 
captain, 396, 441, pilots the Darien 
Colony ,479. 

Almagro, Diego de, 21, 162, 185, 236, 
signs contract for subjugation and 
equal partition of Peru, 238, scene 
with Pedrarias, 244, executed by 
Hernando Pizarro, 257. 

Almagro, the Youth, beheaded by Vaca 
de Castro, 257. 

Almirante Bay, Carambaru, named for 
the Admiral, 4, 5, 92, 93. 

Alonso, Juan, betrays his benefactor, 
160, 161. 

Alvarado, Alonso de, 261. 

Alvarado, Diego de, sails with Colum- 
bus, 67. 

Alvarado, Jorge de, lieutenant of 
Cortes, 233. 

Amapalla Bay, 467. 



Five hundred thirty-one 



INDEX 



Amazon river, 119. 

Amazons, island of, 68, see also Mar- 
tinique. 

America, 30, 35, 36, 68, 78, 86, 159, 
180, 231, Central, 2, 85, 128, 222, 
29s, 296, Isthmus of, 296, North i, 
2, South, I, 2, 85, 118, named for 
Amerigo Vespucci, 128. 

American Indians, see Aborigines, In- 
dians. 

American Race, see Amerinds, Indians. 

Amerinds, 170, 320, see also Aborig- 
ines, Indians. 

Amundsen, Roald, 300. 

Anacaona, queenly caciquess, no. 

Anachucuna Bay, 15. 

Ancon, mountain, 19, colony 19, hos- 
pital, 19 cove 258, 432, 447. 

Andagoya, Pascual de, arrives in Dar- 
ien, 185, regidor of Panama, 226, 
236, 261, report on Canal Survey 
303, opinion of Panama city, 308, on 
the Indians of the Isthmus, 331, 333. 

Anderson, R. G., delegate to the Pan- 
ama Congress, 19. 

Andes, boat of, haled over the Isthmus, 
296. 

Andres, chief of the Dariens, with the 
Buccaneers, 442, 444, 447, confers 
with the Scots, 479, 480. 

Animals of Panama, sloth, 333, peccary 
and warree, 334, tapir, 334, manati, 
335, monkeys, 335, iguana, 3^5, two- 
headed snake, 336. 

Animas, Las, opposite San Lorenzo, 8. 

Aiiino, Urrutia, suppresses lawless- 
ness, 8. 

Aniricn, Felipe de, advocates Honduran 
route, 309. 

Anson, George, at Quibo, 25, in the 
Pacific 399. 

Anthropophagi, see Cannibals. 
Antigua, first Spanish settlement in 
Darien, 15, 16, 20, started by EJn- 
cisco, 150, Balboa takes command, 
150, Nicuesa driven from 154, pros- 
pers under Balboa, 180, Pedrarias 
arrives at, 1S7, first European city 
on the continent, 191, abanaoned and 
destroyed, 215. 
Antigua, island, 70, 452. 
Antilles, 50, 65, 69, 73, 87, 91, 108, 

see also West Indies. 
Antilles, Lesser, discovered by Colum- 
bus, 6s, named by Columbus, 69, see 
also Caribbee Islands, Antilles, West 
Indies. 
Antillia, island of Seven Cities, 31, 43. 



Antonelli, Juan B., 8, 12, advises Philip 

to move Noiubre de Dios to Puerto 

Bello, 310, plans forts at Puerto 

Bello and Chagre, 310. 
Antonio, cape, west end of Cuba, 364. 
Arana, Diego de, cousin of Beatrix 

Enriquez, left in command at Navi- 

dad 60. 
Aranca, Ynigo de, governor of Ver- 

agua, 286. 
Arawaks, timid, 135, driven out by the 

Caribs, 385. 
Arbolanctia, Pedro de, messenger for 

Balboa, 180, 187. 
Archenholtz, Johann W. von, 425. 
Anchipielago de las Mulatas (Islas 

Barbas), 14, de las Perlas, 17. 
Archivo de Indias, 126. 
Ardita Point, 16. 
Areito, Indian singing festival, 138, 

329- 
Arguello, Fernando de, aids Balboa, 

205, beheaded with Balboa, 207. 
Arica, repulses the buccaneers, 450, 4s i 
Aristotle, held Atlantic extended to 

eastern shores of Asia, 33, believed 

in sphericity of the earth, 34. 
Ariza, Andres de, governor of Darien, 

299. 
Armada, Invincible, see Invincible Ar- 
mada. 
Armadilla, in Panama bay, 447. 
Armas, Juan I. de, on the Indians of 

the West Indies, 385. 
Arrow-poison, composition of 331, see 

also Manzanillo. 
Artieda del Nuevo Reyno de Navarra, 

city, 287, 292. 
Asia, 30, 33, 34, 36, 69, 73, 85. 
Asiento, agreement for trade, 314. 
Aspinwall, Wm. H., monument to, 10. 
Aspinwall, town, 8, 9, 20, see also 

Colon. 
Aspinwall-Colon, see Colon. 
Astrolabe, and compass, 35. 
Astruzes, head of navigation in the 

Chagres river, 303, see also Cruces. 
Atahualpa, Inca ,233, 238, killed by 

Pizarro, 241. 
Atalaya, La, Indian village, 287. 
Atlantic Ocean, i, 4, 30, 36, 85, 377. 
Atlantis, Plato informed of, 31. 
Atrato, or Darien, river, i, 16, 130, 

134) i5i> 164, 165, 168, 21S, 216, 

249, as canal route, 296, searched for 

strait, 311, 313. 
Audience, Royal, see Audiencia Real. 



Pive hundred thirty-two 



INDEX 



Audiencia Real, 124, 229, established at 
Panama, 247, 257, 260, 263, de los 
Confines, 271, of Panama, 273, 279, 
280, 284, 426, 427, see also Glossary. 

Augustine, St., declared sphericity of 
the Earth and existence of Antipodes 
contrary to the Scriptures, 37. 

Avila, Pedro Arias de, see Pedrarias. ' 

Ayola, Juan de, seeks strait in Para- 
guay river, 308. 

Ayora, Juan de, lieutenant to Pedrar- 
ias, 185, built Santa Cruz, 189, robs 
the Indians, 190. 

Azores, islands, 34, 62, 65, 345, 366, 
379- 

Azua, port in Hispaniola, 88. 

Azuero,, shoi-t-lived province in Pan- 
ama, 25. 

B. 

BabEque, Haiti, the land of gold, 58. 

Bacallaos (codfish), 294; land of, 295, 
301. 

Bachelor's Delight, buccaneer ship, 461, 
466; rounds the Horn, 468. 

Bachicao, Hernando, seizes Old Pana- 
ma, 258. 

Bacon, I/ord, on Spain's greatness, 315. 

Bacon, Roger, believed in sphericity 
of the earth, 34. 

Badajoz, Gonzalo de, 146, informs on 
Balboa, 158; 185, at Nombre de Dios, 
194, first alderman of Old Panama, 
226; sent to hold the San Juan river, 
254- 

Badajoz, Hernan Sanchez de, contract 
to colonize Veragua, 269, 270, 273. 

Baffin, William, strait-seeker, 295. 

Bahamas, or lyucayos, 50, 51, 54, 119. 

Bahia Honda, first attempt at settle- 
ment on the continent of America, 
107, 129, 134, 159. 

Bailamonos, see Vaila Monos. 

Balboa, Vasco Nunez de, 15-17, born 
in Jerez de los Caballeros, 157; sails 
with Bastidas and Cosa to the New 
World, 81, 157; settles in Hispan- 
iola, 157; hides from his creditors 
on Encisco's ship, 147, 158; deter- 
mines the settlement at Darien, 150; 
deposes Encisco and is elected alcalde 
of Antigua, 151; protects Nicuesa 
from the mob, 153; seeks recognition 
by Diego Colon and Pasamonte, 159; 
de facto governor of Castilla del 
Oro, 160; forms alliance with Caretg, 
161; Panciaco tells of another sea 
and of Peru, 162; commissioned lieu- 



tenant of Diego Colon in Darien, 
163; seeks the golden Dabaiba, 164; 
encounters tree-dwelling Indians, 165; 
treachery of Fulvia, 166; overcomes 
Cemaco, 167; receives men and sup- 
plies from Diego Colon, 168; letter 
to Ferdinand, 168, 327; determines 
to seek the southern sea, 169; his 
dog I^eoncico, 170; subdues Ponca 
and Porque, 171; discovers the South 
Sea, 172; defeats Chiapes, 173; takes 
possession in the gulf of San Miguel, 
174; canoe voyage on the gulf, 175; 
Tumaco's description of Peru, 176; 
names the Pearl Islands, 176; starts 
back to the north ?oast, 177; captures 
Tubanama, 178; sick with fever at 
Pocorosa, 179; returns to Antigua, 
179; sends news of his discovery to 
the king, 180; list of men with Bal- 
boa, 181; his reception of governor 
Pedrarias, 187; prosecuted by Pedrar- 
ias, 188, 201; appointed adelantado of 
the South Sea and of Panama, 193; 
bethrothed to Doiia Maria, 201; re- 
settles Ada, 201; embarks on the 
South Sea, 203; false charges nre- 
f erred against him, 205; fate foretold 
by Micer Codro, 206; trial and execu- 
tion of at Ada, 207; friends beheaded 
with him, 207; opinions of his char- 
acter, 208. 

Balboa, formerly l^a. Boca, town at the 
Pacific mouth of the canal, 22, 23. 

Balceria, Indian festival, 326. 

Balsas, river of 202; Peruvian rafts, 
239- 

Baltasar, Don, mountain in Veragua, 
286. 

Bancroft, Hubert Howe, quoted, 28, 48, 
>>8, 99, 174, 197, 208, 222, 226, 261, 
315, 337- 

Bannister, S., 472. 

Baracoa, called by Columbus Puerto 
Santo, 54. 

Barahona, Jacinto de, in the fight before 
Panama, 446. 

Barbacoa, settlement of, 307; containers 
for gold, 327; a wooden frame, 384; 
416, see also Barbecue. 

Barbacoas, midway the Isthmus, 416, 
419; see also Barbacoa. 

Barbados, island, 452, 461. 

Barbas, Islas, 14; see also Mulatas. 

Barbecue, grate for roasting or curing 
meat, 322, 384;^^^ also Barbacoa. 

Barbosa, Juan de, advocates the Hon- 
duras route, 309. 



Five hundred thirty-three 



INDEX 



Bariento, Captain, 255. 

Barker, Andrew, privateer, robs the 
Spanish Main, 394; recovers Oxen- 
ham's guns, 395. 

Bark-logs, or rafts, 456. 

Barlow, Roger, strait-seeker, 295. 

Barrionuevo, Francisco de, governor of 
Castilla del Oro, 247, 249; condemns 
the highway, 303. 

Barrow, John, 366, 367. 

Baskerville, 'Ihomas, with Drake in the 
Caribbean, 360; fails to cross to 
Panama, 371; returns to England, 373. 

Basle, treaty of, 112. 

Bas Obispo, town of, 21. 

Bastidas, Rodrigo de, 2, 81, 88, 108. 
first European to reach the Isthmus, 
117; with Cosa in the gulf of Darien, 
120; wrecked on Hispaniola, 121; 
adelantado of Trinidad, 122; founds 
Santa Marta, 123; fatally stabbed by 
mutineers, 123; dies in Santiago, 124; 
buried in Cathedral at Santo Domingo, 
125; license to discover, 126, 150. 157, 
215, 216. 

Bastides, see Bastidas. 

Bastimentos, islands and anchorage off 
Nombre de Dios, 12, 13; Columbus 
at, 95, 107; Bastidas at, 117, 121; 
Nicuesa at, 146; Albites at, 213; 
Drake at, 346; privateers at, 39S; see 
also Nombre de Dios. 

Basuto, Juan, death of, 227. 

Bayano, king of the cimarrones cap- 
tured, 308. 

Bazan, Alvarez de, attacks Hawkins at 
Vera Cruz, 340, 341. 

Bea, Indian chief, 214. 

Beas, Antonio de, Spanish Admiral, 
eludes the buccaneers, 463, 464. 

Beata, island, 80. 

Beautiful Eady of Old Panama, 430, 

433- 

Becerra, Francisco, 190, 193. 

Becerrico, famous dog, 170. 

Beckford, Peter, commissions privateers, 
469. 

Behaim, Martin, map of, 36. 

Be jar, Martin de, bishop of Panama, 
248. 

Bejuco, mountain in Veragua, 286. 

Belen, or Bethlehem, first white colony 
on the Isthmus, 6; started by Colum- 
bus, loi; Don Bartolome left in com- 
mand, 104; driven out by the 
Quibian, 104-107; sought by Nicuesa, 
142, 143; resettled by Olano and 
Cueto, 144; abandoned by Nicuesa, 
145; 159. 250- 



Belen, river, 6; entered by the fleet ot 

Columbus, 98; sou.vjht by Nicuesa, 

142, 143; found by Olano and Cueto, 

144; 251, 253, 284. 
Belpuerto, see Portobelo. 
Benalcazar, conqueror of Quito, 185. 
Benegas, Francisco de, to look for a 

strait, 311. 
Benitez, Francisco, whipped Dy Balboa, 

153; collects evidence against Balboa, 

205, 208. 
Benzoni, Girolamo, at Nombre de Dios, 

255, 256. 
Beradi, Juonato, contractor in Seville, 

67. 
Berlanga, Tomas de, bishop of Panama, 

248, 269 ; describes the Isthmus to 

the king, 303, 304. 
Bermejo, Juan, rebel leader killed at 

Old Panama, 262, 266. 
Bermuda, ship, 88; Indian prisoners on, 

105. 
Bermudez, Francisco, with Columbus, 

88, 114. 
Betanzo, projected city in Darien, 299. 
Bingham, Hiram, 485. 
Bird Rock, near Crooked Island, 53. 
Birii, cacique and country of, first 

visited by Morales, 194; origin of the 

name Peru, 227, 236. -<;. 
Birues, Juan de, 192. 
Biruquete, Indian chief, 213. 
Biscaina, or Vizcaino, ship, 86, aband- 

doned at Puerto Bello, 107; 115. 
Black River, 91. 

Black Rock, in Caledonia Bav, 480. 
Blanquilla, island, 79. 
Blest, Isles of (or Fortunate Islands), 

probably Canaries, 31. 
Blewfields, Jamaica, Scots at, 489, 497, 

498. 
Bluefields, Nicaragua, 92, 93. 
Boabdil el Chico, Moorish king, 39. 
Bobadilla, Francisco de, places Columbus 

and his brothers in irons, 80, 81, 82, 

88. 
Bobadilla, Isabel de, wife of PeJrarias, 

186, 201. 
Boca, Ea, former name for Balboa, 22, 

23- 

Boca del Drago, Almirante bay, 4, 6; 

gulf of Paria, 79, 80. 
Boca del Serpiente, 78, 79. 
Bocas del Toro, 5, 434. 44i. 
Bogota, Santa Fe de, 399- 
Bohio, native name of western part of 

Haiti, 57, 58; name of Indian hut, 

123, 328; town on Chagres river, 416; 

see also Bujio. 



Five hundred thirty-four 



INDEX 



Boil, Fray Bernardo, politician of the 

cloister, 68, 71, 74. 

Bolivar, Simon, calls the Panama Con- 
gress, 18; interested in canal project. 
297- 

Bonacao, or Guanaja, Columbus at, 
89, 90. 

Bondsmen, European, 384; see also 
Engages. 

Bononiama, Indian chief, 178. 

Boqueron, settlement on the Camino 
Real, 7, 307. 

Boquete, mountain valley in Chiriqui, 
26; Indian graves in, 324. 

Borland, Francis, 333, 488, 490, 491, 
492, 494. 495. 496, 498, 499- 

Botello, I/uis, friend of Balboa, 204; 
executed with Balboa, 207. 

Boucaniers, cattle-hunters on Haiti, 22, 
384, 385, 387, 422; see also Buc- 
caneers, Flibustiers. 

Boundary of Panama, i, 4, 16, 27, 285. 

Bournano, buccaneer captain, plunders 
Chepo, 440, 441. 

Bradley, Joseph, buccaneer chief, 8, 407, 
409, fatally wounded in taking San 
Lorenzo, 412. 

Brandan, St. Mirage island, 31. 

Brazil, 81, 82, 119, 377. 

Brazil-wood, 121, 480. 

Brethren of the Coast, see Buccaneers. 

Briceno, Alonso, at Gallo island, 241. 

Brinton, D. G., 321. 

Brisas, northeast winds, 282, 289, 394. 

Brujas Point, 9. 

Bruselas, settlement on the gulf of 
Nicoya, 229. 

Bucan, dried and smoked meat, 383; 
method of curing, 384; a smokehouse, 
384; roasting prisoners, 385. 

Buccaneers, 5, 14, 17, 21-26. 139, fol- 
lowed the privateers, 37s; description 
of, 376; reasons for encoura,j;mg, 377; 
settle on Tortuga, 382; origin of tne 
term, 383-385 ; aided by Indians and 
Cimarrones, 386; rules and regula- 
tions, 387; loot the Spanish settle- 
ments, 391; famous chiefs, 392, 393; 
Coxon and L,a Sound take Portobelo, 
396, 397; Lolonnois at Maracaibo and 
Gibraltar, 392; Mansfield establishes 
headquarters on St. Catherine, 393; 
Morgan loots Portobelo, 402-405 ; at 
Maracaibo again, 406; Bradley cap- 
tures San Lorenzo, 410-412; up the 
Chagres river, 415-418; battle and cap- 
ture of Old Panama, 421-432; re- 
turn to Cruces and San Lorenzo, 433 j 



anger against Morgan, 434; in Pana- 
ma Bay and the South Sea, 439; 
over the Isthmus, 442-446; battle be- 
fore Panama, 446; raid the coast of 
Peru, 450; return to the Caribbean, 
454-457; other incursions into the Pa- 
cific, 461; fire-ship at Taboga, 462; 
battle at the Pearl Islands, 464; re- 
turn to the West Indies overland and 
around the Horn, 467; join in the 
capture of Cartagena, 468; cease to 
exist, 469; see also Boucaniers, Fli- 
bustiers. 

Buenaventura, town, 282. 

Buenavista, San Gil de, settlement 
started by Gil Gonzales Davila, 222. 

Bugaba, Indian village in Chiriqui pro- 
vince, 27; guacas first discovered here, 
324. 

Bugabita, old village in Chiriqui, 27 i 
guacales at, 324. 

Bujio, a location on the Camino Real, 
7. 307; on the Chagres river, 416; 
see also Bohio. 

Bull of Donation, 65, 378, 485, 486. 

Buquebuca, Indian chief, 178. 

Burga, Martin de, slain by Indians, 214. 

Burica, point, 26, 27, 200; Indian chief, 
228; boundary, 285. 

Burinquen, captives found on Guadalupe, 
69; first visited by Columbus, 70. 

Burney, James, 381, 383, 425, 441, 469, 
470. 

Burton, R., 354, 371. 

Bustamente, Diego de, captain with 
Pedrarias, 185. 

Byres, James, councillor of Darien 
Colony, 492, 497. 

C. 

Cabildo, of Panama, 18. 
Cabot, John, Sebastian, 81, 294. 
Cabra, land-holder, 327; brave warrior, 

332. 
Cabral, Pedro Alvarez de, found Brazil 

for Portugal, 82. 
Cabrera, Pedro de, at Nombre de Dios, 

260. 
Cacafuego, treasure-ship taken by 

Drake, 360. 
Cacao (Chocolate beans), Spaniards 

thought them new kind of almonds, 

89, 229. 
Caceres, Alonso, founds ValladoHd, 309. 
Cacique, 55; title introduced on the 

Isthmus. 319. 
Caicedo, Juan de, 153, 167, 169, 184. 



Five . hundred thirty-five 



INDEX 



Calamar, see Cartagena. 

Caledonia, region about Caledonia Bay 
settled by the Scots, 480, 488. 

Caledonia Bay, its importance, 15; 121, 
visited by Drake, 348; 442, Scots at, 
473. 480, 487, 491. 

Calentura, or fever, 124, 349, 352, 364, 
395. 399. 488, 496. 

Calero, Alonso, descends the San Juan 
river, 270, 301; speech of, 302. 

Calicut, 82. 

California, gold-seekers, 8, 20; reached 
by Drake, 36'; visited by the bucca- 
neers, 465. 

Callao, the port of lyima, 440, 450, 462. 

Calobegola, valley of, 272. 

Calobre river, 272. 

Camalilla, inn on the overland road, 
7. 307- 

Camara, Gonzalo G. de la, 287. 

Camden, William, 381. 

Camino Real, 3, course of, 7, 21, 306, 
307, started, 213; worst road in 
Christendom, 303 ; described by Ber- 
langa, 304; between Cruces and 
Panama, 305, 409, 418; the all-land 
route, 306, 307; inns on, 306; paved 
in places, 306; traversed by Drake, 
354, 356. 

Camoturo, Indian official, 323. 

Campbell, Alexander, fights the Span- 
iards, 495, 497. 

Campeche, 391. 

Campo, Diego de, 253. 

Campo y Espinosa, Alonso del, 403, 
434. 

Cana, mining town, 12, 17, taken by 
the English, 470. 

Canal, 2, 7, 9, 23. 

Canal Routes and Projects, early 
efforts, 293; Humboldt's routes, 296; 
at Tehuantepec, 296, 300; Raspadura 
ravine, 296 ; at Honduras Bay, 296 ; 
between Portobelo and Panama, 297; 
Chagres- Panama route, 297; survey 
and report upon, 302, 303; Darien- 
San Miguel route, 298; San Bias 
(Mandinga Bay) — Rio Chepo route, 
298; through Nicaragua, 301; through 
the Isthmus, 307; early proposal by 
Gomara, 312; seas of different levels, 
312; to join Red Sea and river Nile, 
312; condemned by Acosta, 312; 
Panama examined by two Flemish 
engineers, 312; project interdicted on 
pain of death, 313; various plans, 
317; see also Interoceanic Routes 
and Traffic, and Chagres River. 



Canal Zone, 2, 9, 13, 19, sS, 198, 321. 

Canary islands, 45, 68, yj, 87, 118, 203, 
362, 369. 

Candia, Pedro de, 241-243. 

Caney, circular hut, 328. 

Cannibals, 69, 72, 196, 253; see also 
Caribs. 

Cano, J. S. del, completes the first 
circumnavigation in the Victoria, 300. 

Canoas, 50. 

Canutillo, see Camalilla. 

Caonabo, cacique, 71, 75, 117. 

Cape, Indian chief, 272. 

Cape de Verd Islands, 34, 65, 77. 

Capira, Mt., 265-267. 

Capitana, flagship, 86, 88, 99, 109. 

Capitolinus, Julius, stated India could 
be reached in a few days' sail from 
Spain, 33. 

Carabajal, Diego de, 446. 

Carabajal, Rodrigo de, 257, 258. 

Carabaru, or Caravaro, 92-95; see 
also Almirante Bay. 

Caracoles point, 16. 

Carder, Peter, wrecked on Tierra del 
Fuego, 359. 

Careening Cay, 5, 93. 

Careta, Darien chief, 160, gives his 
daughter to Balboa, 161; 170, 179, 
189, 196, 204, 319. 

Careta, Indian village, 15, province of, 
327, 331. 

Cariari, visited by Columbus, 91, 92; 
probably the site of Puerto Ivimon, 
Costa Rica, 93. 

Caribbean Sea, first called the North 
Sea, 2, 12, 13, SI, 61, 364, 374, 381. 
392, 451, 457, 468. 

Caribbee islands, see I^esser Antilles. 

Caribs, aborigines of the I<esser An- 
tilles, 50, 68, 69; roasted and ate 
their enemies, 60, 327; fight the 
Spaniards, 70, 135; sea-roaming In- 
dians, 321; driven from St. Kitts, 
381; taught JEJuropeans how to cure 
meat, 384; overcame the Arawaks, 
50, 385- 

Carillo, I,uis, 185, 192, 263. 

Carlile, Christopher, commands land 
forces, 362; takes Cartagena, 363. 

Carlos, La Villa de, 284, 285. 

Carolina, fort, on Caledonia bay, 299. 

Carreta, or Monkey, Point, 4. 

Carreto, port, 15. 

Carrion, Anton de, at Gallo island, 241. 

Cartagena, called Calamar by the In- 
dians, first reached by Bastidas and 



Five hundred thirty-six 



INDEX 



Cosa, 120; Ojeda's repulse, 132-4; 
Encisco at, 147; capital of the Span- 
ish Main, 348; Drake springs ashore 
at, 349; captured by the English, 
362; by the French, 468; 483, 498. 

Cartago, 272, 391. 

Cartier, Jacques, looks for a passage, 
295- 

Carvajal, agent for Columbus, 88. 

Casaos, Pedro de, corregidor of ir'an- 
ama, 259. 

Cascajal river, 7, 307, 394. 

Cassava, or Yuca, 49, 56, 89, 136, 217, 
282. 

Castaiieda, Juan de, pilot, 213. 

Castaneda, l,icenciado, letter on the 
death of Pedrarias, 233. 

Castaneda, house of, at Ada, 206. 

Castilla, Alonso, C. de, 272, 310. 

Castilla Aurifica, 184; see also Castilla 
del Oro. 

Castilla del Oro, early divisions of, 2; 
region of the New World granted to 
Nicuesa, 130; resettle Belen, 144; Ni- 
cuesa locates his capital at Nombre de 
Dios, 146; Balboa tells of Darien, 150; 
Antigua started by EJncisco, 151; gov- 
ernor Nicuesa driven out, 153; Balboa 
the de facto governor, 1 60-1 81; Pe- 
drarias commissioned governor, 184; 
boundaries of the province, 130, 184; 
the capital established at Panama, 212; 
death of governor Sosa, 214; arrival 
of governor Rios, 231; relieved by 
governor Gama, 247; superseded by 
governor Barrionuevo, 247; rebellious 
uprisings, 257-267; description of, 272; 
improvement of transit by the Chagres 
river, 302; seek a waterway, 294; 
311; see also Panama, Isthmus of. 

Castillo, Bernal Diaz del, historian of 
the conquest of Mexico, 185, 188. 

Castillo de Austria, settlement of, 272. 

Castillo, Hernando del, notary of Pan- 
ama, 238. 

Castillos, or forts, at Portobelo, 12, 
290, 394; at Chagre, 8, 291, 398. 

Castro, Vaca de, governor of Peru, 257, 
258. 

Cat Island, thought to be original Guan- 
ahani (San Salvador), 51. 

Cathay, 36, 43, S4, 65, 82, 85, 108. 

Cathedral of Old Panama, 22, 248, 266, 
278, 279, 42s, 446. 

Catiba, 94, loi. 

Catoche, cape, 164. 

Cattle, 66, 122, 264, on Haiti, 383; 
meat boucaned, 384, 386; before Old 
Panama, 420, 423. 



Cattle-hunters, see Boucaniers. 

Cavallon, I<icenciado, 271, 291. 

Caxinas, cape, 90, 91. 

Caymans, islands, 108. 

Cebaco, island of, 25; Indian chief, 199. 

Ceballos, Fray Augustin de, 4. 

Cecil, William, 341. 

Cemaco, Darien chief, 15, 16, 150, 160, 
166, 180, 214. 

Cenu, or Sinii, first visited by Bastidas 
and Cosa, 120; Uncisco reads the 
Requisition, 148; gold gathered in 
nets, 148, 184; Becerra's party killed, 
190; Hurtado at, 196; robbed by 
Heredia, 248; cemeteries of, 249. 

Cereceda, Andres de, 217, 220. 

Cerro Pando, 27. 

Cesar, Francisco, led an expedition 
south to the Guaca valley, 249, 250. 

Chagre, province of, 192; mouth of the 
Chagres river, 212, 433; see also 
Chagres River. 

Chagre, Venta de, where the camino 
real crossed the Chagres river, 7, 21, 
265, 266, 307. 

Chagre Point, west side of mouth of 
Chagres river, see plan of Chagre. 

Chagres, village of, 8, 433. 

Chagres Fever, 9; s^e also Calentura. 

Charges River, or Rio Chagre, 2, 6; 
key to the portal of the South Sea, 
7; tributaries of, 7; route to Cali- 
fornia, 8; 9, 21, 22, early visit by 
Albites, 27; Columbus in, 97, 98, 107; 
called Lagartos or Alligators, 27, 144; 
Olano and Cueto enter, 144; treasure 
transported on, 264; barges on, 274, 
291; explored by Sema and Corzo, 
302; described by EJspinosa and Ber- 
langa, 303, 304; adopted for transisth- 
mian traffic, 305; crossed by Camino 
Real, 300, 307; defenses of, 8, 28, 
291, 410, 414, 419; ascended by Ulloa, 
335 ; Barker and Vernon at, 395, 398; 
route taken by Morgan, 409, 414, 433; 
see also Canal Routes and Projects, 
and San I^orenzo. 

Chame, town of, 24, 25; district, 195. 

Champlain, Samuel de, at Portobelo, 
310. 

Chanca, Doctor, wrote first scientific 
account of the West Indies, 68, 69. 

Charles II., of England, 432. 

Charles V., Fmperor, 20, 122, 124, 191, 
203, 211, 215, 222, 231, 241, 248, 256, 
299, 302, 303, 379. 

Charles-Town, Carolina, 498. 

Charlevoix, Father, 136, 139, 394. 



Five hundred thirty-seven 



INDEX 



Changuinola river, 4. 

Chauncey, Henry, 10. 

Chepillo island, 17, 446- 

Chepo, river, 17, 24; town of, 17, 277, 

281; cacique, 191; 399. 44°. 463- 
Cherchez la femme, 166, 204. 
Chesapeake Bay, seen by Verrazanno, 

294. 
Chevalier, Michel, 307- 
Chiapes, Indian chief, 173-178, i93- 
Chibchas, family of Indians, 320, 323. 
Chicha, used at festivals, 249. 320, 322, 

328, 354; chicha copah, 322. 
Chico river, 27. 
Chioriso, Indian chief, 178. 
Chipiripa, God of the Indians, 333- 
Chiracona, given to the dogs, 200. 
Chiriqui, town, 27; province, 26; graves, 

27; 324; conquered by Hurtado, 228, 

230, 250; by Afiasco, 287; memorial, 

287. 
Chiriqui Grande, village, s. 
Chiriqui Lagoon, 5; see also Almirante 

bay, and Boca del Tore. 
Chiriqui Point, 6. 
Chiriqui Viejo river, 27, 270. 
Chiriquicito, 5. 

Chiriquita, early name for David, 465. 
Chiru, Indian pueblo, 19S. 198, 276. 
Chiuchires Indians, 200. 
Cholos, or mestizos, 26, 325- 
Chorrera, town of, 24. 
Chuchuma, chief and country of, 203, 

226, 227, 237. 
Chucunaque river, 299, 487. 
Chupadores, 320. 
Cibao, gold region, 58, 61, 71- 
Cieza de Leon, Pedro, on the Indians 

of Uraba, 330, 331- 
Cigarros, 56. 
Ciguare, 90. 
Cimarrones, 14, 21; near Panama, 274: 

ruled by a black king, 27s; harass 

Nombre de Dios, 276; war with, 280; 

freed by royal cedula, 291; settled at 

Santiago del Principe, 291; war under 

Bayano, 308, 309; aid Drake, 344, 

350, 356; with Oxenham, 351; 482. 
Cipango, 33, 36, 43, 54. 57. 7i. 
Circumnavigation, 300. 
Citrous Fruits, brought to America 

from the Canary Islands, 68. 
Clavijo, Count de, 308. 
Clavijo, Sancho, governor of Panama, 

280. 
Climate, 4, 9, 150, 184, 188, 194, 196, 

251, 255, 271, 282, 289, 4s6, 486,493. 
Coaita Point, 6. 



Coatzacoalcos river, as canal route, 296. 

Cobrava, on the coast of the Isthmus, 
94, loi, 102. 

Cobson, Richard, dies as foretold by the 
Indians, 460. 

Cocalito point, 16. 

Coche, 78. 

Code province, 4, 24, 285. 

Cocos island, 466. 

Cocos river, in Darien, 481. 

Cocura, Indian chief, 17:;. 

Coiba, island, also called Quibo, 25; 
first visited by Hurtado, 199; pro- 
vince 332. 

Collnett, Captain, 26. 

Collyer, Edward, in the battle of 
Panama, 422. 

Colmenares, Rodrigo E. de, a lieutenant 
of Nicuesa, 151, 159, i6i, 165, 183, 
226. 

Colombia, Republic of, i, 3, 15, 16, 19, 27. 

Colombo, Domenico, father of Christo- 
pher Columbus, 29; Giovan Pelle- 
grino, brother of Christopher Co- 
lumbus, 29. 

Colon, Bartolome, brother of Christopher 
Columbus, 29; with Dias to Cape of 
Good Hope, 38; goes to Hispaniola, 
74; made Adelantado, 74; on fourth 
voyage of Columbus, 86 et seq.; left 
in command at Belen in Veragua, 
loi; fight with the Quibian, 104; 
battle with the Porras faction, iii; 
his ashes at Santo Domingo, 112; 
offered province of Veragua, 250. 

Colon, Cristobal, see Columbus, Chris- 
topher. 

Colon, Cristobal, grandson of Christo- 
pher Columbus, 112. 

Colon, Diego, youngest brother of Chris- 
topher Columbus, sails on second voy- 
age, 67 ; returns to Spain, 74. 

Colon, Diego, son and heir of Christo- 
pher Columbus, 29, 33, 36, 39, 67, 
72, 74, 90, 109-112, 122, 128, 130, 
138, 147, 158, 159, 228, 250, 251. 

Colon, Fernando, son of Christopher 
Columbus, 30, 38, 63, 87-89, 92, 94, 
96-98, 102, 104, 106-110, 130. 

Colon, Luis, son of Diego Colon, and 
grandson of Christopher Columbus, 
112, 250; made duke of Veragua and 
marquis of Jamaica, and perpetual 
admiral of the Indies, 251. 

Colon, town of, 3, 9, 10, 11, 19. 23, 
26, 198. 

Colorados, rocks off west end of Cuba, 
498. 



Piv^ hundred thirty-eight 



INDEX 



Columbus, Christopher, 2, s, 6, statue 
in Cristobal, 11; 14, 16, name com- 
memorated by towns of Cristobal 
and Colon, 22; family and early life, 
29; goes to sea, 30; personal ap- 
pearance, 32; marries in Lisbon, 33; 
dreams of lands in the Western 
Ocean, 34 et seq.; receives chart from 
Toscanelli, 35; arrival in Spain, 37; 
wins Beatrix Enriquez, 38; at L,a 
Rabida, 39; capitulation with Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella, 40; sails on First 

• Voyage to the New World, 45 ; dis- 
coveries at sea, 46; finds Guanahani, 
47; landing-place, 52; reaches Cuba, 
54; deserted by Pinzon, 56; discovers 
Haiti, 57; wreck of the Santa Maria, 
S9; welcome by the natives, 60; re- 
turns to Palos, 62; garrison left at 
Navidad, 63 ; departs on Second Voy- 
age, 65; disliked by many Spaniards, 
66; discovers and names the Lesser 
Antilles, 68-70; at Porto Rico, 70; 
finds Navidad in ashes, 71; invades 
the Cibao, 72; declares Cuba to be 
Asia, 73; considers a circumnaviga- 
ting voyage, 73; discovers Jamaica, 
73; becomes comatose, 73; enslaves 
the Indians, 74; the Haitians tagged 
and taxed, 75; returns to Spain, 75; 
defrauded of his rights, 75 ; story of 
the egg, 76; starts on Third Voyage, 
77; in the doldrums, 78; names Trin- 
idad, 78; first view of the continent, 
78; visits the Pearl Coast, 79; thought 
he was near the Earthly Paradise, 80; 
suppresses the Roldan rebellion, 80; 
in chains to Spain, 81; signature of 
Columbus, 83 ; sets out on Fourth 
Voyage to hunt for a waterway to 
Asia, 85 ; accompanied by his son 
Fernando, 86; hurricane at Hispan- 
iola, 88; arrives at Guanaja, 89; skirts 
shores of Central America, 91; at 
Cariari, 92; enters Almirante bay, and 
Chiriqui lagoon, 93 ; the golden coast 
of Veragua, 94; names Puerto Bello, 
95; at Bastimentos, g;; stops at I: 
Retrete, 96; in L,imon bay and the 
Chagres river, 97; enters the Rio 
Belen, 98; starts the first settlement 
on the Isthmus, loi; driven from 
Belen by the Indians, 104; his vision, 
106; abandons the Biscaina in Puerto 
Bello, 107; gives up search for a 
strait, 108; again among the Queen's 
Gardens, 109; strands his two vessels 
on Jamaica, 109; mutiny of the Porras 
brothers, no; reaches Santo Domingo, 



in; dies in Valladolid, in; remains 

carried to Santo Domingo, 112; ships 

and mariners on fourth voyage, 113. 
Columbus Island, on which is Bocas del 

Toro, s- 
Comagre, Darien chief, 14, palace of, 

161; 162, 169, 172, 178, 179, 319, 

327, 331. 
Comayagua, capital of Honduras, 309. 
Companon, Francisco, 185, 202, 206, 

228, 229, 233. 
Concepcion, town on the Conception 

river, in Veragua, 252, 253; 271; 

founded by governor Vazquez, 273, 

284. 
Conception river, west of Port Scrivan, 

14, 457; river in Veragua, 251. 
Congo river, 454. 
Conquistadores, 25, 185, 379. 
Constantinople, conquest by Osmanli 

Turks, 35. 
Contreras, Alonso de, alcalde mayor of 

Veragua, settles Trinidad, 285. 
Contreras, Hernando de, rebels against 

the king, 262; seizes Panama and the 

Isthmus, 26s; drowned, 267. 
Contreras, Pedro de, revolt of, 262-267. 
Contreras, Rodrigo de, governor of 

Nicaragua, 206, 262; licenses Ma- 

chuca and Calero to examine the San 

Juan river, 254, 304. 
Cook, Edward, buccaneer captain, 441. 
Cook, John, buccaneer captain, 453, 

456; dies at Nicoya, 461. 
Coquibacoa, 128. 
Corabora, bay of, 269. 
Cordillera, the, 3, 194, 198, 201, 211. 
Cordoba, A. F. de, 432. 
Cordoba, Francisco H. de, sent to seize 

Nicaragua, 222, 229; beheaded by Pe- 

drarias, 230. 
Cordova, Francisco Hernandez de, dis- 
covers Yucatan, 90, 164, 307. 
Cordova, G. F. de, 184, 432. 
Corn, see Maize. 
Cornejo, Francisco, 308. 
Corobari, burnt by the Spaniards, 314. 
Coro Boro, duchy of, 270; see also 

Veragua. 
Coronado, Juan Vasquez de, 4. 
Corral, Diego del, 152, 158, 167, 168, 

206, 215, 228, 231. 
Correa, Pedro, 34. 
Corsairs, or freebooters, 274, 309; see 

also Buccaneers. 
Cortereal brothers, seek a passage in 

the north, 294. 
Cortes, Hernando, 48, 68, 90; intended 

to accompany Nicuesa, 131; at Cozu- 



Pive hundred thirty-nine 



INDEX 



mel, 164; never in Darien, 173; 209, 
221, sends Olid to Honduras, 222; 
marches south from Mexico, 230, 231: 
confers with Pizarro in Spain, 243; 
seeks a strait, 222, 300, 301; letter 
to Charles V., 300, 322. 
Corzo, the pilot, examines the Chagres 

river, 302. 

Cosa, Juan de la, made first map of New? 
World, 67, 81; pilot for Bastidas, 120, 
reaches coast of Darien, 121; lieu- 
tenant to Ojeda, 128-132; death by 
poisoned arrows, 133; as strait-seeker, 
120, 294. 

Costa de Contrastes, called by Columbus, 
96. 

Costa del Oro de Colon, 6. 

Costa Rica, 3, 4, 27, 92, 199, 254, 270- 
272, 391- 

Coto de Terraba river, 27. 

Cotton, 95, 283. 

Council of the Indies, 128, 169, 181, 
1S6, 207, 217, 262. 

Cowley, Ambrose, tjuccaneer captain, 
461, 463. 

Coxon, buccaneer captain, 12, 14, 23, 
396, 434, 440, 447- 

Coya, the, 257. 

Cozumel, island of, 164. 

Crab island, taken possession of by the 
Scots, 479. 

Cricamola Indians, called Valientes, s, 
325, 326. 

Cristobal, town of canal employes, 9. 

Cristobal Colon, Spanish cruiser, 73. 

Cristobal Point, 6; at entrance to canal, 
10. 

Crocodiles, 92, 144. 

Cromwell, Oliver, 381. 

Cruces, or Venta de Cruces, head of 
barge navigation on the Chagres river. 
7, 8, 21, 27, 264-266; a deposito for 
merchandise, 274; income for city of 
Panama, 280; town started, 303-31°: 
shipping-point, 314; captured bv 
Drake, 353-355; 393, 409; occupied by 
Morgan, 418, 433. 

Cruz, cape, Cuba, 138. 

Cuba, 33, discovered by Columbus, 54; 
circumnavigated, 56; sworn to bf 
Asia, 73; 86, 109, 112, 124, settled 
by the Spaniards, 131; 137, 154, 167, 
188, 200, 206, 215; 228, 402. 

Cubagua, 79, 395. 

Cubiga, or Cobija, on the north coast 
of the Isthmus, 94, 95. 

Cubita, Indian village, 277. 

Cueba, Indian province, 14, 141, 160, 
216, 22s, 327, 332. 



Cuellar, Francisco de, at Gallo island, 

241. 
Cueto. relative of Nicuesa, 6. 141, 144. 
Culebra island, 23. 

Cullen, Edward, absurd claims of, 298. 
Cumana, bay of, 80, 119, 128, 407. 
Cunas Indians, 321. 
Cunningham, James, councillor, 477. 

481. 
Cupica bay, 297. 
Curacao, island, 388. 
Currents, equatorial, 80, 85, 93, 109, 

124, 137, IS4, 163, 167, 221, 3s6. 
Cutara, son of chief Paris, 213. 
Cuzco. the Inca capital, 238. 



Dabaiba, golden temple of, 164, 166, 
192, 250. 

Daciel, river, 311. 

Damaquiel, river, 311. 

Dampier, William, buccaneer historian, 
i7> 298, 389, 440-442, 457, 460, 462. 

Danta, sec Tapir. 

Darien Colony, promoted by Paterson, 
471; creation of the Company, 47s; 
opposed by the East India Company, 
476; volunteers indentured for three 
years, 377; first expedition ^ails from 
lycith, 478; settle on Ada Bay, 480; 
memorial from the Spanish ambassador 
482; treaty with the Darien Indians, 
483; abandon Darien, 488; deaths 
during the middle passage, 489; sec- 
ond expedition, 490; third expedition 
sails, 491; mutiny and disease, 492; 
negro slavery advised, 493 ; fevers 
and fluxes, 496; capitulate to the 
Spaniards, 497; die and disperse, 498. 

Darien expedition, under Ivieutenant 
Strain, 15, 298. 

Darien, gulf of, i, 16, 67, 108, 117, 
120, see also Uraba. 

Darien, Indian village, 15, 16, 150 et 
seq.; see also Antigua. 

Darien Indians, 150 et seq.; 321-323, 
333, 441, 450, 467, 479, 495- 

Darien, isthumus or province of, i, 2, 
15,16, 117, 150 158 et seq.; 190, 200, 
211, 471, 485, 498. 

Darien, river, see Atrato. 

Davila, Francisco, captain with Pedrar- 
ias, 185. 

Davila, Gil Gonzalez, seeks the Moluc- 
cas, 217; carries his ships over the 
Isthmus, 218; in the gulf of Nicoya, 
219; finds lake Nicaragua, 220; seeks 



Five hundred forty 



INDEX 



the elusive strait, 220, 301; returns 

to Panama, 221; goes to Honduras, 

222; dies in Spain, 225; 229, 231. 
Davila, Pedrarias, see Pedrarias. 
David, capital of Chiriqui province, road 

to Bocas del Toro, s; 26, 27, 199. 
Davis, Charles H., report on interoceanic 

route, 297, 317. 
Davis, EJdward, buccaneer commander, 

battles with the Spanish flota, 24, 461, 

462. 
Davis, John, looks for strait, 295. 
Davis, John, sacks I^eon and Granada, 

391. 

Davis, Nathaniel, raids Cana, 469. 

De Grasse, beaten by Rodney, 68. 

De I^esseps, Ferdinand, engineer and 
promoter of the French canal com- 
pany, II. 

Demarcation line, 65;see also Appendix. 

Denambuc, French governor, 381. 

De Poincy, governor-general, 382. 

De Pointis, baron, takes Cartagena, 
468, 481. 

De Puydt, claims of, 297. 

De Rochefort, quoted, 382. 

Desaguadero, see San Juan river. 

Desembarcadero, on the Chagres, 304- 

Des Marais, flibustier chief, 463. 

"Destruction of the Indies," 256. 

Devil, called tuyra, 329; consulted, 460. 

Deza, Diego, friendly to Columbus, 38. 

Dias, Bartolomeu, discovers Cape of 
Good Hope, 38, 299. 

Diaz, Miguel, 75. 

Diriangen, Indian chief, opposes the 
Spaniards in Nicaragua, 220. 

Discovery, of America, 47; of the 
Pacific, 172; list of, 299. 

Dites, Indian chief, king of the Pearl 
Islands, fights the Spaniards, 193, 
194. 

D'Ogeron, M. governor of Tortue, 376. 

Dogs, utilized in the conquest of Am- 
erica, 56, 68, 75, 142, 170, 171, 177, 
193, 198, 220, 229, 233, 238. 

Dominica, island, 68, 87, 343. 

Don Baltasar, mountain in Veragua, 
286. 

Don Christopher's Cove, 109. 

Doiia Maria, daughter of Pedrarias, 
betrothed to Balboa, 186, 201; mar- 
ries Contreras, 206, 263. 

Donation of the New World to Spain 
and Portugal, 65 ; see also Bull of 
Donation. 

Dos Bocas, on the Chagres, 7. 

Dos Cabezas snake, 336. 



Doughty, Thomas, decapitated by 

Drake, 358. 
Dow, Captain, at Colon, 11. 
Drake, Francis, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 
139, 280, 308; statues to, 337; his 
family and early voyages, 338; es- 
capes the Spaniards at San Juan de 
Ulloa, 341; wounded at Nombre de 
Dios, 346; waits at Port Plenty, 348; 
his brothers, 343, 35°; "that goodlie 
and great high tree," 350; his friend 
Oxenham, 351; bootless capture of 
the packtrain, 354; in Cruces, 3SS; 
takes the king's treasure on the 
Camino Real, 356; returns to Ply- 
mouth, 357; sails around the world, 
358; passes through Magellan's 
Strait, 359; captures the Cacafuego, 
360; attempts a passage north of 
California, 361; completes circum- 
navigation, 362; knighted on the 
Golden Hind by Queen Elizabeth, 
362; with Carlile captures Santo 
Domingo, 363; takes Cartagena, 364; 
"Singeing the King of Spain's 
beard," 365; vice-admiral against the 
Armada, 367; last expedition of 
Drake and Hawkins to the Carib- 
bean, 369; loots and burns the 
Spanish Main, 370; again lands at 
Nombre de Dios, 370; Baskerville 
fails to reach Panama, 371; at Es- 
cudo de Veragua, 371; death and 
burial oif Puerto Bello, 372; 382, 388, 
396, 409, 450, 48s, 487- 

Drake island, off Portobelo, 12, 372; or 
Plata, 450-453, 462. 

Drummond, Thomas, offers to go 
against Portobelo, 493. 

Du Casse, governor of St. Domingue, 
468, 484. 

Dumb dog, in Cuba, 56, 383. 

Duro, Captain, 64. 

Dururua, Indian chief, successor of the 
Quibian of Veragua, 252. 

Duy, province of, 271, 286. 

E. 

Eannes^ Gil, rounded Bojador, 32. 
Farthly Paradise, of Columbus, 80, 81, 

8S- 
Eaton, John, buccaneer chief, 461, 464. 

465- 
Egas, half-brother of Rios, 231. 
Egg, made to stand by Columbus, 76. 
El bohio del diablo, 248. 
El Cerro de Avance, 422. 



Five hundred forty-one 



INDEX 



El Cerro de los Bucaneros, 420. 

Eldorados, 164. 

El Draque, 348, 355, 360; see also 
Drake, Francis. 

El Hombre Dorado, 149. 

El Portete, 284, 285. 

El Puerto de los Caballeres, 72. 

El Quemado, Indian chief, 193. 

El Retrete, 14, 95, 96, 107, see also 
Escribanos. 

El Suegro, Indian chief, 193. 

Elizabeth, queen of England, 337, 340, 
378, 485. 

Elizabethan seamen, 375, 432. 

Embarcadero, on the Trinidad, 307; on 
the Darien coast, 470. 

Encinasola, Pedro de, captain under 
Gutierrez, 251, 252. 

Encisco, Martin F. de, alcalde mayor of 
Nueva Andalucia, 131, 138, 141; 
finds Balboa a stowaway, 147; dis- 
putes with the caciques at Genii, 148, 
190; loses his supplies, 149; founds 
Antigua in Darien, 16, 150, 215; de- 
posed by his people, 151; succeeded 
by Balboa; 158; denounces Balboa, 
169 ,183. 

Encomienda, 129, 263, 277; see also 
Glossary. 

Engages, or bondsmen, 382, 384. 

Engano, cape, east point of Haiti, 73. 

Enriquez, Beatrix, mother of Fernando 
Colon, second son of Columbus, 38, 60. 

Equator, 239, 357, 389, 487. 

Escaray, Juan de, 214. 

Escobar, Diego de, no. 

Escondido, hidden port, 15. 

Escoria, Indian village on the Isthmus, 
195; province of, 200. 

Escribanos, or Port Scrivan, 14, 96, 
see also El Retrete. 

Escudo de Nicuesa, 272, 284; see also 
Escudo de Veragua. 

Escudo de Veragua, 6, 272, 284, 371. 

Esdras, book of, 34. 

Espanola, see Hispaniola. 

Esparza, sacked by buccaneers, 451. 

Espave, Indian lady, 327. 

Espejos de oro, 93. 

Espinosa, Caspar de, alcalde mayor of 
Castilla del Oro, 185, 188; raids the 
Isthmus, 196-201; tries Balboa, 207; 
succeeds Balboa on the South Sea, 
211 ; secures the gold of Paris, 212, 
213; pursues the Indians, 227; settles 
Nata, 228; finances the Peruvian ex- 
pedition, 238, commends the Chagres, 
303; letter to the emperor, 311; life 



and death of, 125, 238, 242, 250. 

Esquivel, Juan de, in Jamaica, 109-111, 
131. 138. 

Estancia, 432, 466. 

Estero lyongarremos, 403. 

Estete, Martin, the notary, 218; alder- 
man of Panama, 226; explores the 
San Juan, 232, 254. 

Eudoxus of Cyzicus, 31. 

Eugenie, empress of France, 11. 

Evelyn, John, on Morgan, 435. 

Exquemelin, Alexandre O., buccaneer 
historian, 388, 392, 402 et seq., 442, 
452- 

F. 

Fabrega, Jose de, 19. 

Fair, at Cartagena, 313; at Portobelo, 
314. 394- 

Falcmar, surveys Panama, 297. 

Fato, 13; see also Nombre de Dios. 

Felipa, Monis de Perestrello, wife of 
Columbus, 33, 34, 36, 87. 

Felipe, pilots Drake, 359. 

Felipe II., of Spain, 12, 310, 312; see 
also Philip II. 

Felipillo, infamous Peruvian, 242. 

Ferdinand, king of Spain, 2, 37, 40, 
62, 6s, 75, 86, 100, no, 122, 130, 
138, 168, 179, 191, 203, 260, 380. 

Fever, see Calentura. 

Fiesco, Bartholomew, 109, 115. 

Figuerola, Rafael de, governor of Ver- 
agua, 286. 

Fires, in Colon, 11. 

First Settlements, 6. 16, 107, 123, 129, 
134, 151, 212, 225, 228, 249. 

Fiske, John, historian, 185, 209, 222. 

Flamenco island, 281. 

Fletcher, Francis, chaplain to Drake, 361. 

Flibusteros, 385; see also Buccaneers. 

Flibustier, 376. 385, 402, 430; see also 
Buccaneers. 

Flood, legend of, 219, 333. 

Florida, 2, 67, 338, 3S6, 363. 474. 498. 

Flota, at Nombre de Dios, 276; sailed 
to Vera Cruz, 313; 382, 40.';, 466. 

Flyboat, 385. 

Fogo island, 359. 

Fonseca, Juan R. de, bishop of Bur- 
gos, 66, 80, 117, 129, 183, 217, 221. 

Fonseca, gulf of, 221, 309; town in 
Chiriqui, 230. 

Forbans, unlicensed ships, 380. 

Foyer, Archibald, 471, 486. 

Francis I., 379; patron of Verrazano, 
294; of Cartier, 295. 

Francisco river, 284, 356. 



Five hundred forty-two 



INDEX 



Friars, wandering, extended knowledge 
of the world by their travels, 34. 

French Canal Company, 9-1 1. 

Friend, Charles, 297. 

Frobisher, Martin, strait-seeker, 295; 
with Drake, 362, 367, 372. 

Fulvia, of Darien, 166, 167. 



Gagb, Thomas, at Granada, 230; at 

Portobelo, 314. 
Galena, U. S. warship, at Colon, 11. 
Galeones, 12, 21, 249, 276, 313, 314, 

350, 391. 393- 
Gallapagos islands, 468. 
Gallego, Pedro, executed, 258. 
Gallego, 86 et seq.; left at Belen, 106, 

107. 
Gallo island, Pizarro at, 239-241. 
Gama, Antonio de la, succeeded Rios 

as Governor of Castilla del Oro, 247, 

302, 308. 
Gama, Vasco da, reaches India, 82, 379. 
Gamboa, 7, 307. 
Gamez, Pedro de, 198. 
Ganges, sought by Columbus 73, 86, 90, 

92. 
Garabito, Andres, false friend of Balboa, 

204, 205, 208, 254. 
Garachine point, 3, 16, 453. 
Garay, Francisco de, 68, 307. 
Garivito, Francisco, 200. 
Gasca, Pedro de la, arrives at Nombre 

de Dios, 260; suppresses rebellion in 

Peru, 262; recrosses the Isthmus with 

the king's treasure, 264-267. 
Gateway, to the Pacific, 7, 438, 499. 
Gatun, old village on the Chagres, 8, 

10, 13, 307; lyake, 7, 10. 
Gayny, George, buccaneer, drowned in 

Darien, 454. 
Gibraltar, sacked, 392; held by Morgan, 

406. 
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 295. 
Gisborne, lyionel, explores Caledonia 

bay route, 298. 
Giumba, aged Indian, 90. 
Gobernadora island, 199. 
Goethe's prediction for the U. S. 297. 
Gold, 5, 6, 27, so, 56, 58, 67, 74, 90, 95, 

100, 117, 121, 134, 146, 150, 159, 199, 

213, 221, 233, 242, 249, 264, 284, 360, 

434. 452. 467, 478. 
Golden Cap, Indian chief, 443, 447. 
Golden Castile, 2, 6, 134. 
Golden Chersonesus, 73. 



Golden Hind, sailed around the world 

by Drake, 17, 23, 359. 
Golden Island, 15, 441. 479, 487. 494, 

496, 497- 
Golfo Dulce, z6, 27, 120, 199. 
Gomara, Francisco L. de, 138; urged 

Philip to make a canal at Panama, 

312. 
Gomez, Dstevan, sails for the Spiceries, 

294. 
Gonzalez, Francisco, regidor of Panama, 

226. 
Good Hope, cape of, 38, 82, 86, 361, 

378. 
Gorgona, on the Chagres river and the 

old Panama railroad, 7, 307- 
Gorgona island, 450, 453, 462. 
Graaf, I,aurent de, enters Vera Cruz, 

391- 

Gracias a Dios, cape, 2, 91, 130, 39i> 
468. 

Grammont, buccaneer chief, at Vera 
Cruz, 391. 

Granada, Nicaragua, founded by Cor- 
doba, 229, 230; 25s, 263; plundered, 
391, 402, 465. 

Granada island, 79. 

Grant, Ulysses S., crosses Panama, 298. 

Gregorio, of Genoa, with Columbus, 113; 
at Portobelo, i45- 

Greytown, or San Juan del Norte, 92, 

93- 

Griego, Juan, pilots Drake, 359- 

Griffins, at Huiva, 97- 

Grijalva, Juan de, went to Tabasco and 
San Juan de Ulloa, 90, 307, 231- 

Groniet, Francois, flibustier chief, 26, 
463; killed at Guayaquil, 467. 

Guaca valley, 249. 

Guacanagari, cacique, welcomes Colum- 
bus, 58, eg, 71, 75- 

Guacas, old graves, in Chiriqui, 27, 93, 
249; manner of burial, and contents, 

324- 
Guadalupe island, 69. 
Guaiga, river in Veragua, 94, 9S- 
Guaimi Indians, 6, 288, 323; see also 

Aborigines; Panama, Indians of. 
Guajiro, or chief, 327- 
Guam, captain Swan at, 466. 
Guanahani, see Watling Island. 
Guanaja, island reached by Columbus, 

89. 
Guanata province, i99- 
Guanin, impure gold fabricated by the 

Indians, 79, 92, 119, 121, 132. 
Guarda-costas, 139, 380, 397, 399- 



Five hundred forty-three 



INDEX 



Guardia, L,a, another name for Antigua, 

2IS- 

Guarionex, cacique, 88. 
Guatemala, 67, 223, 280. 
Guayacan, Indian dance, 323. 
Guayaquil, 242, 450, 462, 467. 
Guerra, Cristoval, given license to ex 

plore, 81, 118. 
Guerrero, Gonzalo, remains with the 

Indians, 164. 
Guetares, or guacal Indians, 324. 
Guinea, barrio of Portobelo, 288. 
Gutierrez, Diego, governor of Costa 

Rica, 254-256. 
Gutierrez, Felipe, settles in Veragua, 

251-253; goes to Peru, 254, 269, 291. 
Gutierrez, Julian, in Uraba, 249. 
Gutierrez, L,uis, favors the Honduran 

route, 309. 
Guzman, Alonso D. de, crosses the Is- 
thmus, 306. 
Guzman, Antonio Tello de, 20, 185; 

first at the site of Panama, 191, 192. 
Guzman, Hernando M. de, 260, 261. 
Guzman, Juan de, 258. 
Guzman, Juan P. de, president of 

Panama, opposes Morgan, 413, 421, 

423, 426, 432. 
Guzman, I,uis de, governor of Panama, 

280. 
Guzman, Pedro I,. H. de, 497. 

H. 

Habitans, French settlers, 468. 

Haiti, discovered and settled by Colum- 
bus, 33, 57, 60, 69, 89, 100, 104, no; 
376, 380, 383; see also Hispaniola; 
Santo Domingo. 

Hakluyt Society, 196, 383. 

Hall, James, strait-seeker, 295. 

Hamilton, Alexander, born on Nevis, 
381. 

Haro, Francisco de, killed before Old 
Panama, 422, 423. 

Harris, Peter, buccaneer captain, killed 
before Panama, 441 et seq. 

Hartop, Job, escapes the Spaniards, 341. 

Hatuey, cacique, 486. 

Hawkins, John, first slaver in the Carib- 
bean, 338; attacked by the Spaniards 
at San Juan de Ulloa, 341; battles 
with the Armada, 366-368; dies at 
Porto Rico, 369; 372, 380, 388. 

Hawkins, Richard, invades the South 
Sea, 310, 369, 448. 

Havana, Cuba, 2, 112, 393, 402, 474, 
482. 



Hayna, river in Hispaniola, 75. 

Heguera, Juan L. de, governor of Vera- 
gua, 288. 

Helps, Sir Arthur, 59. 

Henry VIII., of England 338. 

Heredia, Pedro de, founds Cartagena, 
124, 248, 249. 

Hermida, Juan de, castellan of San 
lyorenzo, 399. 

Hermosillo, Juan G. de, reports on inter- 
oceanic roads, 309. 

Hernan, Francisco, 160. 

Hernandez, Francisco, 185. 

Hernandez, P. P. F. M., describes Chiri- 
qui Indians, 289. 

Herrera, Antonio de, historian of the 
Indies, 129, 135, 144, 160, 176, 201, 
202, 226, 237, 243, 253, 334. 

Hesperus, a king of Spain, 31. 

Hinojo macho, remedy for snake-bite, 
283. 

Hinojosa, Pedro de, enters Old Panama, 
258-262. 

Hispaniola, or EJspanola, discovered and 
settled by Columbus, 57, 87, 104 et 
seq.; 117, 127, 135, 147, 157, 200, 
217, 221, 232, 247, 383; see also Haiti; 
Santo Domingo. 

Hamaca, 52, 56, 329. 

Hogs, bought at the Canaries on the 
Second Voyage, 68; 149, 217, 349 386, 

Holmes, William H., describes the anti- 
quities of Chiriqui, 324. 

Holy Brotherhood, 67. 

Honduras, 90, in, 221, 222, 230, 231, 
232, 251, 254, 296, 301. 

Hore, A. de, governor of Panama, 
drives out MacGregor, 12. 

Horn, Cape, 452, 468. 

Horqueta mountain, 5. 

Horses, importance of, in the conquest 
of the Amerinds, carried on the Sec- 
ond Voyage, 67; enter the Cibao, 72; 
of Ojeda, 131: with Nicuesa, 132, 
147, 149; Balboa mounted. 166, 170; 
of Espinosa, 198; of Davila, 218; 
abandoned, 230; of Salcedo, 232; four 
with Pizarro in 1524, 236; ludicrous 
incident, 239; twenty-seven with Pizar- 
ro in 1531, 244; with Heredia, 248, 
249; St. James on a white one, 250; 
from Nata and Pueblo Nuevo, 283; 
buccaneers on, 467. 

Hosier, Admiral, 10, 308. 

Hospital, of Ancon, 19; of Old Panama, 
27s ; of Portobelo, 288. 



Five hundred forty-four 



INDEX 



Hout, George, buccaneer leader, 467. 
Howard, Lord, 336, 367, 372. 
Huacas, see Guacas. 

Hudson, Henry, in Hudson river, 295. 
Huiva, perhaps Limon bay, 97, 98. 
Humboldt, Alexander von, defines inter- 

oceanic routes, 296, 297. 
Hurricane, 55, 88, 122, 498. 
Hurtado, Bartolome, 165, 168, 190, 196, 

ig8, 200, 219. 
Hurtado, Benito, given a golden armor 

by Cacique Cebaco, 25, 199; alderman 

of Panama, 226; founds Fonseca in 

Chiriqui, 228, 230, 231. 
Hutia, or Utia, kind of coney, 56, 383. 



I. C. C, Isthmian Canal Commission, 
10, 13, 19, 22, 198, 296. 

Iguana, used for food, 53, 56, 335. 

Illanes, Juan de, 258. 

Illingsworth, Captain, at Taboga, 24. 

Illinois, steamship, passengers killed, 20. 

Ilo, town of, 450. 

Imibe, chief on Guanaja, 89. 

Ina, or chief, z^S- 

Incas, Peruvian, 227, 241, 257. 

Independence, of Panama, declared, 18, 
19. 2S- 

India, 33. 35, 42, 65, 85, 184, 187. 

Indian Ocean, 85, 86, too. 184. 

Indians, taxed, enslaved, and exterminat- 
ed, 3, 49, 59, 72, 89, 93, 101, 109, 
121, 134, 144, 164, 184, 202, 233, 25s, 
319, 500; see also Aborigines of the 
Isthmus; Panama, Indians of. 

Indies, meaning America, 63, 65, 75, 76, 
80, 87, 94, III, 118, 125, 130, 154, 
160, 177, 188, 201, 233, 252. 

Inquisition, the, 38, 66, 256, 260, 366, 

374- 
Interoceanic Routes and Traffic, water- 
way sought by Columbus, 293; 
"Straits of Panama," 294; strait found 
by Magellan, 295; Humboldt's routes, 
296; across Isthmus of Panama, 297; 
Caledonia Bay route, 298; supposed 
passages, 299; sought by Cortes, 300; 
by Davila in Nicaragua, 301; Chagres- 
Panania route, 302-7, 399; in Hon- 
duras, 309 ; gateway remains at 
Panama, 310; opinion of Champlain, 
310; passes not improved by Philip, 
313; Vera Cruz-Acapulco route, 313; 
Portobelo-Old Panama road, 313; tab- 
ulated routes, 296, 317, 473; by 



Paterson, 473 ; Acla-San Miguel pass, 

487; Portobelo-Chagres-Panama route, 

488; see also Canal Routes and Pro- 
jects. 
Interrogatories, by the Spanish Crown, 

277, 278. 
Invincible Armada, assails the English, 

366, 367. 
Iron Fort, at Portobelo, 12, 290, 394, 

3g7;see also San Felipe. 
Irving, Washington, biographer of Col- 

mubus, SI, 68, 293. 
Isabella, queen of Spain, 37, 39, 4°, 

62, 74, 86, 100, III, 139, 186, 260. 
Isabella, second settlement on Hispani- 

ola, 72-75. 
Isla de Oro, see Golden Island. 
Isla Grande, 12. 
Isla Rica, or Isla del Rey, 17, 176, i93. 

203, 212. 
Isla Santa, first part of the American 

continent viewed by Columbus, 78. 
Island of Pines, west of Caledonia 

bay, 15. 
Isla Barbas, or Mulatas, 14, 107. 
Islas de las Perlas, see Pearl Islands. 
Isle a Vache, resort of the buccaneers, 

40s, 407, 469- 
Isle of Pines, off Cuba, 109, 373- 
Isthmian guard, 8. 
Isthmus, the, see Panama, Isthmus of. 



Jamaica, discovered by Columbus and 
called Santiago, 65, 73; Columbus 
wrecked on, 100, 108, 109; settled 
by Fsquivel, 109, no, 131; reached 
by Bastidas, 121; Ojeda arrives at, 
138; Valdivia wrecked near, 163; hogs 
and supplies in, 217, 255; taken by 
the English, 383; friendly to the 
buccaneers, 377, 38S, 393, 398 Morgan 
at, 405, 434, 468, 469; the Scots arrive 
at, 489 et seq. 

Jardines, or Queen's Gardens, 89, 109. 

Jefferson, Thomas, letter on Canal pro- 
ject, 298. 

Jenkins, Robert, ear cut off by Captain 
Fandino, in 1731, 399- 

Jerez, Garcia de, at Gallo island, 241. 

Jerez, Rodrigo de, seeks the Khan of 
Tartary, 55. 

Jeronimite Fathers, 207, 211. 

Jesuits, in modern Panama, r8; in Old 
Panama, 279. 

Jestcs of Lubeck, ship of Hawkins, 338; 
taken by the Spaniards, 341. 



Pive hundred forty-five 



INDEX 



John, king of Portugal, 36, 63. 
Jolly, Robert, councillor of Caledonia, 

477- 
Jonah, Rabbi Benjamin ben, 34. 
Josephine, empress of France, born 

on Martinique, 68. 
Juan, Spanish prince, 75, 76. 
Juan Fernandez, islands of, buccaneeri 

at, 384, 450, 451, 468. 
Juan Salguero, islet, 289. 
Juana, Spanish princess, 75. 
Juego de Canas, 104, 208. 
Junta, to consider project of Columbus, 

37-39, 66. 

K. 

Kane, Captain, U. S. N., 11. 

Keats, John, quoted, 172. 

Kelley, Frederick M., canal promoter, 

299. 
Kinhills, Captain, bombards Portobelo, 

397. 
Knight, William, buccaneer captain, 

463- 
Knollys, Francis, with Drake in the 

West Indies, 362. 
Kubla Khan, 16, 41, 42, 50, 55, 81, 

89, 90. 

L. 

Labat, Pere, 387. 

La Boca, former name for the port of 
Balboa, 22, 23. 

I,a Calle de la Puentezuela, 279. 

Lacenta, chief of the Dariens, 455; 
his palace, 457; allows Wafer to go 
home, 459. 

La Costa de la Oreja, 91. 

Lactantius, disbelieved in Antipodes, 
37- 

Lagartos, river of, 7, 302; see also 
Chagres. 

Laguna de Chiriqui, 5, 6; see also 
Chiriqui Lagoon. 

La Huerta, 91. 

Landa, lieutenant of Contreras, 266; 
hanged at Venta de Chagre, 267. 

La Rua, Alonsa P. de, captures Nata, 
25, 194; loses his life, 195. 

Las Casas, Bartolome de, bishop of 
Chiapa, protector of the Indians, his- 
torian of the Indies, 50, 56, 68, 79, 
80, 88, 107, III, 130, 136, 137, 138, 
146, 154, 158, 161, 162, 202, 204, 211, 
254, 256, 486. 

Las Casas, Francisco de, lieutenant of 
Cortes in Honduras, 222, 223. 



Las Casas, Pedro de, father of Fray 
Bartolome, 68. 

La Serena, captured, 450. 

La Sound, buccaneer captain, 12, 14, 
18, 396; Key of, 457, 460. 

Laudonniere, Rene de, 295, 396. 

Laughton, L- K., on Morgan, 337, 435. 

Lavelia, 463, 466; see also Los Santos. 

La Villa, 25 ; see also Los Santos. 

Lawyers, disliked, 148; prohibition on, 
150, 152, 185, 186, 244, 248. 

Ledesma, Pedro de, pilot with Columbus, 
in alleged voyage of 1497, 86, 90, 93; 
swims ashore at Belen, 106; wounded 
in mutiny on Jamaica, in, 115. 

Lego, Bias de, 308. 

Lele, medicine-man, 320. 

Leon, Hernan Ponce de, first com- 
mandant of Panama, 200, 212; cam- 
paigns with Pedrarias, 228, 232 233. 

Leon, Juan Ponce de, with Columbus 
on second voyage, conquered Puerto 
Rico, discovered Florida, 67 ; dog of, 
170; seeks a strait, 307. 

Leon, Nicaragua, 208; founded by Cor- 
doba, 229; 232-234; Contreras revolt 
begins at, 263 ; sacked by buccaneers, 
391, 465. 

Leoncico, Balboa's dog, 170. 

Lepe, Diego de, explorer, 81, 119. 

Le Picard, flibustier chief, 463, 467. 

L'Escuyer, flibustier chief, in Panama 
Bay, 463. 

Libros de las Profecias, 82. 

License, of 1495, to discover, 75, 118, 
127. 

Lima, "City of the Kings," founded by 
Pizarro, 17, 238, 262, 359, 360 432. 

Limarette, on the Cruces road, 307. 

Limon, port of, 93. 

Limon Bay, 8, 9, 23, 97, 107. 

Line of Demarcation, 65, 389; see also 
Bull of Donation; and Appendix. 

Lisardo, Pedro de, dies in defense of 
San Lorenzo, 412. 

Llama, Peruvian, 176, 239, 242, 359. 

Llanos, or plains, 4, 26. 

Llerena, mining settlement in Veragua, 
271. 

Lloyd, surveys for canal, 297. 

Loaisa, Garcia J. de, passes through 
Magellan's Strait, 300, 311. 

Lolonnois, worst buccaneer captain, 391; 
loots Maracaibo, 392. 

Long, Richard, locates the Scots, 481, 
482, 484. 

Lopez, Domingo, surveys for canal, 297. 



Five hundred forty-six 



INDEX 



Loris, Rogel de, regidor of Panama, 226. 

I<os Reyes, 118, 250. 

1,0s Santos, town of, 4, 24, 25, 463 466. 

I,ucayans, 50, 51. 

lyUcayos, 50, 51; see also Bahamas. 

IvUgo, Pedro F. de, governor of Santa 
Marta, 125. 

Ivuque, Fernando de, acting-vicar of 
Panama, 21, 235, 236; signs contract 
with Pizarro and Almagro for the sub- 
jugation and partition of Peru, 237 
at seq. ; made bishop of Tumbez, 243; 
death of, 238, 243. 

lyussan, Raveneau de, 391; in Panama 
Bay, 463, 46s, 466. 

M. 

Macanas, 104, 16s, 179, 330, 333. 
Mac Gregor, Gregor, takes Portobelo, 12. 
Machete, 273, 384, 456. 
Machuca, Diego, descends the San Juan 

river, 254, 270, 301. 
Mackay, Daniel, councillor of Caledonia, 

477; devoured by sharks, 497. 
Macket, captain, buccaneer, 441, 479. 
Madeira islands, 31, 71, 478. 
Madinino, island of Amazons, 62, 68, 87. 
Madoc, the Welshman, 34. 
Madrid, Alonso de, alcalde at Nombre 

de Dies, 159. 
Magalhaes, Fernao de, see Magellan. 
Magdalena River, 120, 122, 320. 
Magellan, Ferdinand, finds a waterway 

to the South Sea, 239, 258, 295; killed 

by Filipinos, 300, 358; strait of, 311, 

375. 399- 
Mahomet's Paradise, 229. 
Maia, 90, 91, 163, 200. 
Maintenon, Madame de, resides on 

Martinique, 68. 
Maisi, cape, 56, 57, 73, 85. 
Maize, in America, SS) 89, 98, loi, 145, 

148, 161, 163, 177, 180, 213, 229, 252, 

264,' 276, 2S8, 349, 417, 433, 456. 
Mala Point, or cape, 24. 
Managua, contained 40,000 natives, 229- 

232. 
Manati, 61, 89, 334. 
Manchineal, trees and apples, 452, 480; 

see -also Manzanillo. 
Mandeville, Sir John, extended know- 
ledge of the world by his travels, 33, 

34- 
Mandinga Bay, 14, 298. 
Mangi, sought by Columbus, 33, 57, 

108. 



Mansfield, FJdward, ablest buccaneer 
admiral, 391, 402; attempts to found 
a buccaneer state, 392; death of, 393. 

Manzanillo, toxic tree, 290, 331, 452, 
480. 

Manzanillo Point, 12; island and port, 
403. 

Mar Dulce, of Davila, 220; of Solis, 
294. 

Maracaibo, gulf of, 118; city of, plun- 
dered, 392, 406. 

Margarita, discovered and named by 
Columbus, 79, 80, 81; visited by 
Nino, 119. 

Margarite, Pedro, 73, 74. 

Maria de Toledo, Dona, vicequeen of 
the Indies, 112, 130, 251, 269. 

Maria Enrique, settlement on the Cam- 
ino Real, 7, 306. 

Mariato Point, 25. 

Marigalante, 67, 69. 

Marina, slave girl from Tabasco who 
accompanied Cortes as interpreter, 
164. 

Mariner's Compass, 35. 

Marinus of Tyre, 33. 

Mark, surgeon on Fourth Voyage, iii, 
116. 

Markham, Clements R., quoted, 208, 226. 

Marmora, termination of Fourth Voy- 
age, 108. 

Maroons, see Cimarrones 

Marquez, Diego, lost on Guadalupe, 69. 

Marquez, Diego, contador, 185; opposes 
Balboa, 206; 226. 

Martin, Alonso, first Spaniard to sail 
upon the South Sea, 173. 

Martinique, Carib island, birthplace of 
Josephine, 68, 87, 388. 

Martyr, Petei, 160, 162, 166, 171, 211, 
213. 

Maryland, Fastern Shore of, 294. 

Matachin, on the Chagres, 7, 307. 

Matan, Magellan killed at, 358. 

Matapalo, giant vine, 26. 

Matelotage, among the buccaneers, 387. 

Mayonabex, Cacique on Haiti, 62. 

Mayrionex, Caciqtte, 71. 

Mazamorra, intoxicating drink, 330. 

Medina-Celi, Duke of, friend of Colum- 
bus, 38. 

Medina-Sidonia, commands the Invinci- 
ble Armada, 366, 367. 

Mejia, Hernando, welcomes Gasca, 261. 

Melendez, Pedro, governor of Portobelo, 
39S- 



Five hundred forty-seven 



INDEX 



Mendez, Diego, notary on Fouth Voy- 
age, visits the Quibian, 102; 103, 106, 
107, dangerous canoe voyage to Haiti, 
109,-111. 

Mendez, Rodrigo, killed for insurrec- 
tion, 280. 

Mendoza, Cardinal, "the third king of 
Spain", 37. 

Mendoza, viceroy of Peru, 264. 

Menelaus, 31. 

Meneses, Captain, 17, 190, 191. 

Merced, convent of, 278, 279; suburb 
of Portobelo, 289. 

Meriato, mining settlement on the South 
Sea, 272, 273. 

Meridian, 80th, 2. 

Mestizos, 26, 325, 278. 

Mexico, 86, 90, 131, 164, 188, 221, 223, 
230, 256, 339, 378, 465. 

Micer Codro, astrologer, 206. 

Michel le Basque, flibustier chief, 392. 

Miel, port and river of, 15, 16. 

Milla, Manuel, adjutant at Agla, 299. 

Millan, Barros de, 280. 

Mindanao, buccaneers at, 466. 

Mines, of Sstrella, 4; of Tisingal, 4; of 
Cana, 17, 470; of Remedios, 26; of 
Hispaniola, 72, 75; 92, 130; of Vera- 
gua, 100, 283, 28s; of Cenii, 148; of 
Darien, 150 et seq., 327; of I<lerna, 
271; 130, 179, 232, 264; of Guaimi, 
272; of Concepcion, 253, 272, 286; of 
Meriato, 2-;3; of Ada, 331; 379, 441, 
469. 

"Miocene bridge", 320. 

Miraflores, station, 10. 

Miranda, proposition of, 297. 

Miranda valley, in Veraguas, 326. 

Mislaw, fermented drink, 323, 481. 

Modyford, Thomas, governor of Jamai- 
ca, favored the buccaneers, 393, 402, 
405, 434; imprisoned in the Tower, 
435. 436. 

Molina, Alonso de, at Gallo island, 241, 
242. 

Moluccas, or Spice islands, 217, 220, 361. 

Mona, island of, 73. 

Monis, Dona Felipa, married Columbus, 
33- 

Monjaraz, Licentiate, disputes the con- 
quest of Veragua, 270. 

Monkey Hill, 11. 

Monkey Point, 4. 

Monkeys, 79, 92, 335. 

Monroe Doctrine, 19. 

Monserrate, named by Columbus, 69. 

Montbars, the Exterminator, 391. 



Monte Capira, near Portobelo, 394. 

Monte Cristi, 71, 72. 

Montejo, Francisco de, urges a road in 
Honduras, 309. 

Montenegro, Gil de, 236. 

Montesinos, the historian, 227. 

Montezuma, 203, 300; Guaimi chieftain, 
326. 

Montgomerj', James, councillor of Cale- 
donia, 477, 482. 

Montijo Bay; 25, 199; town of Montijo 
founded, 287. 

Moors, 37-40, 66, 67, 74, 86, 89. 

Morales, Bernardo, 203. 

Morales, Caspar de, first at the Pearl 
islands, and Birii, 185, 193, 194. 

Morant keys, 89. 

Morgan, Bleary, in the battle of Old 
Panama, 422. 

Morgan, Eldward, 401, 436. 

Morgan, Henry, buccaneer admiral, 8, 
12, 22, 23; classed with Julius Caesar, 
376; serves under Mansfield, 393, sold 
as bondsman, 401; chief of the buc- 
caneers, 402; captures Portobelo, 404; 
loots Maracaibo and Gibraltar, 406; 
sham battle at St. Catherine, 409 ; ar- 
rives at San I,orenzo, 413; trip up the 
Chagres river, 414; reaches Barbacoas, 
416; a la savana, 417; stops over 
night in Cruces, 418; opposed by In- 
dians, 419; his men feast upon the 
cattle, 420; battle on the savana, 421; 
assault and capture of Old Panama, 
426; returns to Chagre and escapes 
with the treasure, 434; carried pris- 
oner to England, 435; knighted by 
Charles II., 435; returns to Jamaica 
and prosecutes the buccaneers, 436; 
dies without issue, 437. 

Morris, John, in the battle of Old Pana- 
ma, 422. 

Morrito Point, 6. 

Mosquito Gulf, 6. 

Mosquito Indians, 384, 386, 442, 453, 
468. 

Mosquito Point, 14. 

Mosquito Shore, 91, 393, 440. 

Mota, Inigo de la, 308. 

Mt. Hope, cemetery, 11. 

Moya, Marchioness de, friend of Colum- 
bus, 40. 

Mulatas Islands, 14, 121, 141, 152. 

Mules, see Packtrains. 

Mummified bodies, 92, 330, 333. 

Munoz, list of Europeans left at Navi- 
dad, 63, 64. 



Five hundred forty-eight 



INDEX 



Mufioz, Fernando, friend of Balboa, 
204; executed with him, 207, 208. 

Muscovy Company, 293. 

Mutineers, on Hispaniola, 72, 74, 80; 
on Jamaica, no, in. 

Mutis, port of, 25. 



N. 



Naborias, vassal Indians, 329. 

Nam, Cape, 32. 

Naos, port of, 9; island of, 23, 281. 

Narvaez, Panfilo de, 138. 

Nata, Indian chief, 25, 194. 

Nata Indian village discovered by I,a 
Rua, 25, 194; Badajoz at, 195; set- 
tled by E)spinosa, 228, 230; negotiates 
with the Duke of Veragua, 270; 276, 
285, 286; native settlements near, 
287; 432. 

Navarrete, Martin F. de, 64, 116, 333. 

Navassa, island of, 109. 

Navidad (the Nativity), first settle- 
ment on Haiti, 47, 60, 63, 66; de- 
stroyed by natives, 71, 107. 

Navio de Permiso, 314. 

Navy bay, 8, 9. 

Negroes, 13, 19, 20, 26, 74, 202, 208, 
242, 253, 272-2yS, 286, 288, 291, 380, 
386, 39S. 448, 453, 462, 482, 493; 
see also Cimarrones. 

Nelson, Lord, 381. 

Nevis, discovered by Columbus, 70; 
birthplace of Hamilton, 381; 453, 468. 

New Albion, 361. 

New Cadiz, 79. 

New Edinburgh, on Caledonia Bay, 480; 
deserted by the Scots, 488; resettled, 
491; taken by the Spaniards, 497. 

New Granada, 20. 

New I,aws, of 1543, 256, 261. 

New Panama, 432, 439; see also Pan- 
ama, Present City of. 

New Providence, island, 469. 

New World, 32, 50, 62, 67, 68, 74, 
107, 112, 119, 128, 131, 159, 163, 176, 
183, 200, 232, 250, 260, 378, 386, 390, 
471. 

New York, 51, S7> 485, 489, 49i. 497- 

New-Found-Iyand, 294, 301, 311; see 
also Bacallaos. 

Nicaragua, Indian chief, asked remark- 
able questions of the Christians, 219- 
223. 

Nicaragua, 27; coasted by Columbus, 91:; 
172, 187, 206; first invaded by Davila, 
217 et seq.; Bruselas, Granada, and 
Leon founded, 229; Cordoba beheaded 



by Pedrarias, 230; Salcedo succeeded 
by Pedrarias, 232; San Juan river 
explored, 232, 254, 260, 270, 301; re- 
volt of Contreras brothers, 262. 

Nicaragua, Lake, called Mar Dulce by 
Davila, 220; its outlet explored, 220, 
232, 254, 263, 301. 

Nicholson, Governor, 484. 

Nicoya, Cacique, 219; gulf of, 199, 219, 
221, 230, 263, 451, 465. 

Nicuesa, Diego de, 2, 6, 13, 14 ,16, 
107, 108; first governor of Castilla 
del Oro, 127, 129; disputes with 
Ojeda, 130; aids his rival at Calamar, 
133; lands at Puerto de Misas, 141; 
wanders in Veragua, 142-144; re- 
settles Belen, 144, 145; deserts Helen, 
14s; driven from Portobelo, 146; 
founds Nombre de Dios, 146; invited 
to Antigua, 252; driven from Antigua, 
153; death of, 154, 158, 160, 161, 169, 
184, 194, 207, 211, 213, 250. 

Nilcos, port of, 284. 

Nina, famous caravel, 41, 45, 47, 59, 
60, 62, 63, 67, 73, 75. 

Nino, Andres, the pilot, goes to Spain 
for Albites, 212; with Balboa and 
Davila, 217; discovers gulf of Fon- 
seca, 221. 

Nino, Pedro Alonso, the pilot, explores 
with Guerra, 75, 81, 118. 

"No Peace Beyond the Line," 389. 

Nombre de Dios, 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 87; 
port visited by Columbus, 95, 107; 
founded and named by Nicuesa in 
1510, 146; 152-154; abandoned by 
Nicuesa's party, 159; 160; Badajoz 
lands at, 194; 212; resettled by Al- 
bites in 1519, 213, 225, 250; begin- 
ning of the Camino Real, 213, 272, 
303; Rios arrives at, 231; Francisco 
Pizarro a'., 243-249; under Gonzalo 
Pizarro, 257-261; during Contreras 
Rebellion, 262-267; a poor harbor and 
unhealthy, 276, 308; description of, 
in 157s, 276; a den of thieves and 
graveyard of travelers, 304; its re- 
moval advised, 304, 310; described by 
Alcedo, 308. 

Norman, Captain, buccaneer command- 
ant of San Lorenzo, 414, 431. 

Norris, John, with Drake in Portugal, 
368. 

Norsemen, discover America,34, 60. 

North Sea, 2, 254, 260, 271, 280, 301, 
311; see also Caribbean Sea. 

Noya, Juan de, escapes the Indians of 
Veragua, 105, 114. 



Five hundred forty-nine 



INDEX 



Nuestra Senora de Belen, see Belen. 

Nuestra Senora de la Antigua, see An- 
tigua. 

Nuestra Sefiora de las Palmas, 287. 

Nueva Andalucia, province granted to 
Ojeda, 2, 130, 131, 141, 147, 151, 184; 
see also Uraba. 

Nueva Isabella, 80. 

Nueva Jaen, 232. 

Nueva Lisboa ,in Code, 288, 289. 

Nueva Segovia, 391. 

Nunez, Alonso, alcalde mayor, 145. 

Nutibara, Indian chief, 250. 

O. 

Ojeda, Alonso de, 2, 16; with Columbus 
on Second Voyage, 67, 69, 72; cap- 
tures Caonabo, 75; 79, 107; makes 
voyage to Paria, 1 17-120; starts first 
settlement on the mainland, 127, 129; 
appointed governor of Nueva Anda- 
lucia, 130; fight at Turbaco, 133; 
founds San Sebastian in Uraba, 134; 
w^recked on Cuba, 137; dies in Santo 
Domingo, 139; 141, 146, 151, 157. IS9. 
184, 186, 236, 249. 

Ola, Indian village, 276, 287. 

Olancho valley, 231. 

Olano, IvOpe de, captain general to Ni- 
cuesa, 6, 28, 131; in the Rio Chagre, 
144; resettles Belen, 145; in chains at 
Nombre de Dios, 152; favored by 
Balboa, 159. 

Old Panama (Panama Viejo), see Pan- 
ama, Old City of. 

Old Providence, island, S- 

Olid, Cristobal de, sent out by Cortes, 
222, 301. 

Oliver, Jack, incites a riot, 20. 

Ordaz, Diego, 138. 

Orinoco, river, 78, 80, 118, 119. 

Oropendolas, 289. 

Oppenheimer, Franz, quoted, 380, 385. 

Ortega, Juan de, sent after Oxenham, 
351; recovers the treasure, 352. 

Osorio, Pedro G., governor of Veragua, 
286, 330. 

Otoque, isle of, 276, 448. 

Ovando, Nicolas de, governor of His- 
paniola, refuses to aid Columbus, 82, 
87, 88; 110, III, 129; relieved by 
Diego Colon, 130. 

Oviedo y Valdes, Gonzalo F. de first 
chronicler of the Indies, 20, 143, iS7, 
160, 181, 184, 185, i86, 189, 191, 193, 
203, 208, 211, 214, 215, 228, 231, 233, 
237, 244, 247 248, 252, 284, 309, 327, 
329. 333, 335. 



Oxenham, lohn, sails with Drake, 17, 
343; at Nombre de Dios, 345, 350; 
crosses the Isthmus to gulf of San 
Miguel, 351; first English commander 
to invade the South bea, 351; pursued 
by Ortega, 352; capture and execution 
at Lima, 353, 360; his guns retaken 
by Barker, 395; 280, 485. 

Ozama, river, 80, 87. 



Pacheca, island of, sea-fight near, 464. 

Pacific Mail Steamship Co., 11. 

Pacific Ocean, 2, 4, 15, 17, 36, 170, 181, 
220, 239, 264; see also South Sea. 

Pack-trains, or recuas, 21, 264, 314, 
350, 356, 427- 

Pacora,i92, 281. 

Palacios, Diego G. de, 309. 

Palenque, 7, 14. 

Palomino, Rodrigo A., loyal to Bastidas, 
122-124. 

Palos, town of, 39, 40, 41, 45, 63, 119. 

Panama, Aborigines of, 319 et seq.; see 
also Panama, Indians of. 

Panama, Animals of, 333-336. 

Panama, Bay of, 20, 23, 24, 206, 225, 
439 et seq. 

Panama, Canal of, 9, 10, 19, 293 et seq.; 
see also Canal Routes and Projects; 
Interoceanic Routes and Traffic; 
Chagres River. 

Panama, Congress of, 19. 

Panama, Governors of, 508-517. 

Panama, Gulf of, 17, 18, 24, 173, 175, 
462, 464. 

Panama, Indians of, 319 et seq.; Cunas, 
Dariens, and San Bias, 14, 15, 321; 
Guaimis or Codes, 323; Bugabas, 
Dorasques, 324 Guaimis, Valientes, 
and Cricamolas, 5, 6, 325; of Uraba, 
330; had forgotten their own lan- 
guage, 281; tribes of Chiriqui and 
Veragua, 287; see also Aborigines of 
the Isthmus. 

Panama, Isthmus of, geography and 
orography, i, 2, 3, 4, 8, 14, 23, 33; 
western half discovered by Columbus, 
85, 93. 97; first settlement at Belen, 
98-107; eastern half discovered by 
Bastidas, 117, 121, 128; Nicuesa at 
Belen and Nombre de Dios, 141, 144, 
146; Encisco and Balboa at Darien, 
150, 160; first crossed by Balboa, 170, 
172, 174; subjugation of, under Pe- 
drarias, 183-200; the Spaniards move 
south to Panama Bay, 225; Nicaragua 
and Peru discovered from, 217, 235; 



Five hundred fifty 



INDEX 



rebellious attempts to control, 247, 
257, 262; a strait sought at, and 
early efforts for canal, 293, 294, 303; 
the summit of the world, and portal 
of the South Sea, 304, 308; aborigines 
of, 319 et seq.; raided by Drake, 346, 
356, 370; ravaged by privateers and 
buccaneers, 394, 396; crossed and 
robbed by Morgan, 401 et seq.; the 
buccaneers march over, to the South 
Sea, 439 et seq.; the Scots colonize 
Darien, 471 et seq.; governors of, 508- 
517; see also Castilla del Oro; Da- 
rien; Veragua. 

Panama, "Massacre" of, 20. 

Panama, Old City of, 7, 8, 13, 18, 20, 
21, 22, 24; Indian fishing hamlet, 191; 
Guzman and Albites arrive at, 192; 
post established by Espinosa, 198, 
200, 208; abandoned by Hernan 
Ponce de Leon, 200, 212; founded by 
Pedrarias, 211, 212, 213, change of 
capital opposed bv Oviedo, 214; Gil 
Gongalez at, 218, 221; given a coat- 
of-arms, 225; first regidores of, 226; 
early expeditions from, 227-229; Pe- 
drarias sails from, for Nicaragua, 230; 
arrival of governor Rios at, 231; In- 
dian slave market at, 232; discovery 
and conquest of Peru from, 235 et 
seq.; Royal Audience at, 247, 273, 
280; pillaged by Bachicao, 258; held 
by Hinojosa, 259; taken by Con- 
treras, 265; Bermejo defeated at, 266; 
harassed by Cimarrones, 274, 275, 
280; hospital, cathedral, and convents, 
274, 27s, 279; descriptions of, 273-281,- 
425; port of, 276, 280, 281; revenues 
of, 274, 280; prices of provisions, 282; 
climate and diseases of, 282, 286; 
snakes at, 283, 336; roadways to, 
improved, 302-307; portal of the 
South Sea, 308; citizens of, vote not 
to move, 308; plate-fleet arrives at, 
313; viewed by Drake, 353, Basker- 
ville fails to reach, 371; assault and 
capture of, by Morgan, 421-426; de- 
stroyed by fire, 426, 427, 428, 435; 
rebuilt on a new site, 432. 

Panama, Present City of, port of the 
south coast, 7, 8; during the Cali- 
fornia gold fever, 8, 20; founded in 
1674, i8> 433; description of, 18, 19, 
24, 439; walls and fortifications of, 
18, 440; independence declared at, 18, 
19; first pan-american congress in, 
19; the Illinois aflfair, 20; inhabitants 



of, 26; threatened by Vernon and 
Anson, 399; blockaded by the bucca- 
neers, 446, 447; in the time of the 
Scots, 483, 496. 

Panama, Railroad of, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 
10, II, 26, 198. 

Panama, Republic of, limits of, like 
the Isthmus, i ; formerly a state of 
Colombia, 3; extent and area of, 3; 
boundary with Costa Rica, 4, 27; 
with Colombia, 15, 16; declares inde- 
pendence of Colombia, 19; treaty with 
the United States, 19. 

Panama, Straits of, 294. 

Panciaco, Indian chief, gives Baiboa 
first information of the South Sea, 
and of Peru, 162; 169, 177, 179, 184, 
189, 191, 235. 

Paria, first part of the American con- 
tinent reached by Columbus, 78 et 
seq.; 117-120, 128. 

Paria, Indian village, 287. 

Parima, lake, 149. 

Paris, Indian chief, 24; defeats Bada- 
joz, 195; 198, 2X1, 212; dies in bed, 
213; 319- 

Parita, 24, 25. 

Parker, William, privateer, sacks Por- 
tobelo, 12, 280, 288, 395; departs for 
home, 396; see also Plan of Puerto 
Bello. 

Pasamonte, treasurer at Santo Domin- 
go, favor purchased by Balboa, 159, 
167, 169. 

Paterson, William, promotes the Darien 
Colony, 15, 297, 462, 471; lives in the 
West Indies, 472; seeks to hold the 
doors of the seas and the keys of the 
universe, 473; sails with the colony, 
478; returns to Scotland, 489. 

Pawawas, 320, 460. 

Payta, buccaneers at, 467. 

Paz, Martin de, at Gallo island, 241. 

Pearl Coast, yg, 8i, 117, 128. 

Pearl Islands, in the gulf of Panama, 
17, 24; discovered by Balboa, 176; 
first invaded by Morales and Pizarro, 
193; Balboa at, 203, 203; 218, 236; of 
Venezuela, 79, 81; 276, 446, 462. 

Pearls, 73, 117, 119, 121, 122, 175, 177, 

187, 193, 325'- 
Peccary, 92, 149, 289, 330, 334, 383, 
457, 459- 

Pedrarias (Pedro Arias de Avila), gov- 
ernor of Castilla del Oro, 15, 17, 
20, 183, 184; with distinguished com- 
pany, sails for Darien, 185; lands at 



Five hundred fifty-one 



INDEX 



Santa Marta, i86; welcomed by Bal- 
boa to Antigua, 187; starts a line of 
Posts to the South Sea, 189; kills off 
the natives, 189 et seq.; envious of 
Balboa, 193; founds Ada, 196; pros- 
ecutes Balboa, 188, 201; et seq.; lures 
Balboa to Ada, 205; tries and be- 
heads Balboa, 206-208; formally es- 
tablishes city of Panama, 212, 225; 
buries Sosa, 214; refuses to aid Dav- 
ila, 218; sends Cordoba to seize 
Nicaragua, 225, 229; took no part in 
quest for Peru, 230, 236, 237, 244; 
sails fi-om Panama for Nicaragua, 
230; dies at Leon, 233; grandsons 
of, head a rebellion, 262-267. 

Pedregal, 26, 199. 

Pedro, chief of the Cimarrones, 350, 

357- 
Pedro, chief of the Dariens, 470, 4B1, 

483, 494, 495- 

Pelican, 358; see also Golden Hind. 

Pena, Cristobal de, fails to settle the 
duchy of Veragua, 270. 

Penalosa, cruel to the Indians, 193, i94- 

Pennicuik, Robert, councillor of Cale- 
donia, 477, 481, 489. 

Pennon, 97, 98. 

Penonome, 24, 25, 195, 287. 

Pequeni, town and river, 7, 307. 

Peralta, Cristoval de, 241. 

Peraza, Vicente de, bishop of Panama, 
20, 226, 248. 

Perestrello, Bartolommeo, navigator, 33. 

Perez de Marchena, Juan prior of I<a 
Rabida, 39. 

Perez, Rodrigo, friend of Balboa, 203, 
208, 214. 

Perico, island, 23, 24, 276, 281, 447. 

Perico ligero, 330, 333; see -also Sloth. 

Peru, 21, 23, 68, 131; first intimation 
of, by Panciaco, 162; second an- 
nouncement of, by Tumaco, 176; Bal- 
boa the logical pacificator of 187, 208, 
2og; 227, 230, 233; the quest for, 
23s, et seq.; contract for subjugation 
of,, by Pizarro, Almagro, and L,uque, 
-238; robbed by Drake, 359, 360; har- 
assed by the Buccaneers, 450, 451, 
462, 467. 

Pese, 25. 

Peso de ocho reales, 387. 

Petit Goaves, 388, 484. 

Philip II., king of Spain, 8, 12, 13, 
IS4. 310, 313, 340, 362, 372. 

Philipina, settlement on the South Sea, 
272, 273, 287. 



Philippine Islands, 249, 361. 

Philips, Miles, gets back to England, 
341. 

Pieces-of-eight, 382, 387, 452. 

Piedra pintada, in Chiriqui, 325. 

Piedrahita, Lucas F. de, bishop of Pana- 
ma, 448, 512. 

Pierre Le Grand, wise buccaneer, 390. 

Pike, Robert, drunk and disorderly, 356. 

Pimienta, Juan D., governor of Carta- 
gena, drives the Scots from Cale- 
donia Bay, 496, 497. 

Pineda, Alonso A. de, looked for a 
strait, 307. 

Pines, or Pinos, island, 14, 15, 344. 

Pinkerton, Robert, councillor of Cale- 
donia, 477, 479, 482. 

Pinta, caravel of Columbus, 41, 45, 47, 
56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63. 

Pinzon, Martin A., ship-owner and 
backer of Columbus, 39, 40; comman- 
der of the Pinta, 41, 45, 47, 48, 55, 
61, 63. 

Pinzon, Vicente Y., volunteered to go 
with Columbus, 41; captain of the 
Nina on First Voyage, 45, 48, 59; 
discovers Brazil, 81, 82, 119; disputed 
voyage of, 86, 90, iii. 

Pinzon-Vespucci-Solis - Ledesma Voyage 
(1497), 90- 

Piraraylos, 332. 

Pirates, 21, 22, 310, 375, 382, 389, 411; 
see also Buccaneers. 

Pirre, mountain, 17. 

Pisa, Alonso de, 252, 255, 256. 

Pitcher, William, 359. 

Pizarro, Francisco, 13, 16, 21, 23, 68; 
with Ojeda at San Sebastian, 131, 137, 
146, 247; under Balboa in Darien, 
151, 160, 173, 181; hears of Peru, 
162, 176; 187, 192, 203; arrests Bal- 
boa 205, 206; 227, 230; of ignoble 
birth, 235; first expedition for Peru, 
236; contract with Almagro and 
Luque, 237; second expedition, 238; 
at Gallo island, 241; capitulation 
with the Crown, 243; third and suc- 
cessful attempt to conquer Peru, 244; 
assassinated, 257. 

Pizarro, Gonzalo, ablest of the brothers, 
244, 257; sends Bachicao and Hino- 
josa to seize the Isthmus, 258-261; 
defeat of, and execution by Gasca, 
257, 262. 

Pizarro, Hernando, 244, 257. 

Plantains, 282, 417. 

Plate, river of, 294, 358, 359, 378; 
island of, 450, 451, 453. 



Five hundred fifty-two 



INDEX 



Plate-fleet, see Galeones. 
Pliny, belief of, 33. 
Pocorosa, Cacique, 14, 107, 178, 179; 
captures Santa Cruz, 191, 192, 196, 

^97, 327- 

Pointis, M. de, 376, 468. 

Poisoned arrows, 13^-137, 147-150, 160, 
186, 190, 196, 237, 248, 331, 364. 

Polo, Marco, travels of, 33, 47, 49, 50, 
62, 69, 71, 79, 81, 85, 92. 

Ponca, Indian chief, 14, 161, 170, 179, 
189. 

Poncra, Indian chief, 177. 

Ponte y I^lerena, Pedro, president of 
Panama, 466, 512. 

Porque, cacique of Quarequa, 171. 

Porras, Diego de, notary on Fourth 
Voyage, 92; heads a mutiny, no, 114. 

Porras, Francisco de mutinies on Jamai- 
ca, no, 111, 114. 

Port Drake, California, 361. 

Port Morant, Jamaica, 89, 498. 

Port Pheasant, Drake at, 343, 344. 

Port Royal, Jamaica, headquarters of 
the Fnglish buccaneers, 377, 383, 38S, 
397. 407, 437, 489- 

Port Scrivan, 14, 396; see also Puerto 
del Retrete. 

Port St. Julian, 358. 

Portobelo (San Felipe de), or Puerto 
Bello, 3, 7, 8, II, 12, 21; discovered 
and named by Columbus, in 1502, 
95-98; the Biscaina abandoned in, 
107; Bastidas reached near, in 1501, 
108, 121; Nicuesa lost twenty men at, 
in 1510, 145, 146, 280, 284; populated 
in 1597, from Nombre de Dios, 288, 
310; description of, 288, 314, 393, 
402; had four" suburbs, 289; climate 
of, 289, 313, 314, 393; "the best har- 
bor in all the Indies", 290; defenses 
of, 290, 372, 394, 398, 402; entrepot 
of north coast and terminus of Ca- 
mino Real, 306, 307, 314; had but 
ten houses in 1586, 310; arrival of the 
galleons and annual fair at, 313, 314; 
occupied by Drake, 371; Drake buried 
off, 372, 373; tiempo muerto at, 394; 
taken by Parker, 395; governors of, 
39S> 398, 403; held and looted by 
Coxon and La Sound, 397, 440; cap- 
tured by Vernon, 397, 398; bombard- 
ed by Kinhills, 399; forts of, rebuilt, 
399, 439; taken and robbed by Mor- 
gan, 404; declines to ransom San 
Ivorenzo, 434; negroes at, trouble- 
some, 291, 482; Scots; urged to go 
against, 487, 493. 



Portugal, 30 et seq.; 74, 118, 177, 184, 
36s, 377, 380. 

Posts, line of, from sea to sea, 189, 190, 
191, ig6, 200, 212, 213. 

Prescott, W. H., 237, 238, 240, 243, 
299. 

Prince, EInglish, to be crowned king of 
Tierra Firme, 426, 428. 

Prince Henry, of Portugal, the Naviga- 
tor, 31, 32. 

Prince, lyieut-Col., in the battle of Old 
Panama, 422. 

Prince Maurice, 403. 

Privateers, 21, 276, 309, 375, 389, 394; 
see also Buccaneers. 

Protestants, arrayed against Spaniards, 
375- 

Ptolemy, geographer, 33, 80. 

Pueblo de Indios, 307. 

Pueblo Nuevo, see Remedios. 

Pueblo Rio Chico, see Alanje. 

Puente, Alonso de la, treasurer of Cas- 
tilla del Oro, 185, 226; opposes Bal- 
boa, 205 206. 

Puerto Bello, see Portobelo. 

Puerto Carreto, 15, 479. 

Puerto Cortez, 222. 

Puerto de Caballos, 309. 

Puerto de Misas, 14, 141, 144. 

Puerto de Naos, see Ivimon Bay. 

Puerto del Hambre, Pizarro at, 236. 

Puerto del Retrete (Fscribanos), Port 
Scrivan of buccaneer history, 14, 95 ; 
see also Fl Retrete. 

Puerto Fscoces, 15 see also Caledonia 
Bay. 

Puerto Gordo, 97. 

Puerto lyimon, 93. 

Puerto Plata, 71, 72. 

Puerto Principe, Cuba, 402. 

Puerto Rico (San Juan Bautista), dis- 
covered by Columbus, 65, 67, 69, 70, 
87, 124, 170, 375. 

Punta Burica, 26, 27, 200 465. 

Punta Mala, 24, 25, 463. 

Punta Manzanilla, 12, 117, 121, 213. 

Punta Mariato, 25. 

Punta Mona, 4, 27. 

Punta Mosquito, 14, 108, 121, 161. 

Punta San Bias, 14, 107, 121. 



Quadrupeds, no large domestic, found 

in New World, 176. 
Quarequa, Indian province visited by 

Balboa, 171, 173, 208. 
Quebec, fall of, 383- 



Five hundred fifty-three 



INDEX 



Quebi, term for chief, 319. 

Queen's Gardens, south coast of Cuba, 

89, 109. 
Quevedo, Fray Juan de, first bishop of 

Darien, 185, 188, 190, 193. 201. 2°7> 

211. 
Quibian, The, chief of the Indians of 

Veragua, 6, 98, 99, captured by the 

Spaniards, 102; escapes from Juan 

Sanchez, 103; drives Don Bartolome 

from Belen, 104, 105, iii, 144, 228, 

252, 319- 
Quibio, see Quibian. 
Quibo, Duccaneers at, 448, 450, 465; 

see also Coiba. 
Quinones, Pedro R. de, president of the 

Audiencia, 280. 
Quintana, quoted, 60, 125, 162. 
Quintanilla, friend of Columbus, 37, 40. 
Quintero (and Rascon), owners of the 

Pinta, 41. 
Quito, city of, 257. 



Rabida, Santa Maria de la, Franciscan 
Monastery, befriended Columbus, 39- 

41- 
Raleigh, Walter, 364, 368. 
Rancheria, town, 370, 395, 407. 
Rascon (and Quintero) with Columbus 

on First Voyage, 41. 
Raspadura canal, 296. 
Rause, Captain, with Drake, 344> 347- 
Raynal, Abbe, 376, 390. 
Realejo, sea-coast town of Nicaragua, 

263. 
Rebellion, on the Isthmus, 257-267. 
Recuas, see Pack-trains 
Redonda island, 70. 
Reef-rock, at Portobelo, 290. 
Regidores, 21, 226; see also Glossary. 
Remedios, town of, 26, 287. 
Repartimiento, 157, 185, 271, 272, 284, 

see also Glossary. 
Requerimiento, El, 132, 148, 186; see 

■also Appendix. 
Requisition, The, see Requerimiento. 
Restrepo, Vicente, quoted, 458. 
Reta, Miguel S. de la, sent to the 

Duke of Veragua, 270. 
Retez, Francisco M. de, governor of 

Portobelo, 398. 
Retrete, see Escribanos. 
Rey, island, 17, 281. 
Reyes, Los, 118. 

Ria Lexa, 465, 466; see also Realejo. 
Ribas, Miguel J. de, 226. 



Ribaut, Jean , strait-seeker, 295, 396. 

Ribera, Doctor, 260. 

Ribera, Nicolas de, adherent of Pizarro, 
233, 237, 241. 

Ribero, Diego de, 142-144, 215. 

Ringrose, Basil, buccaneer and writer, 
442, 446, 449, 453; killed at Santa 
Pecaque, 465, 486. 

Rio Chagre, see Chagres River, 

Rio de la Estrella, 4. 285, 291, 292. 

Rio del Desastre, 91. 

Rio Francisco, 356, 357. 

Rio Grande, Panama, 197. 

Rio Hacha, town of 120, 338, 370, 407. 

Rios, Gutierrez de los, 231. 

Rios, Pedro de los, governor of Cas- 
tilla del Oro, succeeds Pedrarias, 228, 
230, 231, 247, 283; sends Serna and 
Corzo to explore the Chagres, 302, 
S08. 

Rising Sun, sails from Scotland for 
Darien, 491; wrecked at Charles- 
Town, 498. 

Robertson, William, historian, 238. 

Roberval, Sieur de, explored in the 
north, 295. 

Robinson, Tracy, 2. 

Robles, Doctor Francisco, sends Bada- 
joz to the Rio San Juan, 254, 259; 
oidor of the Audiencia, 270; governor 
of Panama, 301, 509. 

Roc-de-la-Roche, first chief of the flibus- 
tiers, 392. 

Rocha, Luis de la, 226. 

Rodney, Admiral, whips De Grasse, 68. 

Rodrigo de Triana, first to see land, 47. 

Rojas, Gabriel de, post commander at 
Ada, 196, 201; conquistador in Nica- 
ragua, 229, 231; explores the San 
Juan river, 232, 254. 

Roldan, Francisco, alcalde mayor of 
Hispaniola, rebellion of, 80, 88, no. 

Rose, Hugh, journal quoted, 479-482. 

Rose, Jean, flibustier chief, 396, 463, 

465- 
Rua, Alonso P. de la, hunts Nata, 25, 

194; loses his life, 195. 
Ruiz, Bartolome, pilot to Peru, 239-243. 
Runnels, Ran, 8. 

S. 

Saavedra, lieutenant of Cortes, 230-232. 

Saba, island, 70. 

Sabana River (Rio Balsas), 177, 202- 

204, 218. 
Sacativa, Indian chief, defeats the 

Spaniards, 189. 



Five hundred fifty-four 



INDBX 



St. Andrew, fort at New Edinburgh, 
480. 

St. Ann's bay, 109. 

St. Augustine, cape, 119; post in Flor- 
ida, 364, 391. 

St. Christopher's Hill, 279. 

St. Eustacio, island, 70. 

St. James, appears, 66, 240, 249, 250. 

St. John, island, 70. 

St. Kitt's (St. Christopher), first foot- 
hold of the English in West Indies, 
70; French and English on, 363, 381, 
468. 

St. Martin, island, 70. 

St. Philip, Portuguese carrack, 365. 

St. Thomas, island, 70. 

Sala, Ignacio de, governor of Cartagena, 
399- 

Salaya, Hernando de, suspicious death 
of, 226. 

Salaya, Sancho de, alcalde mayor, 208, 
214. 

Salcedo, Diego E. de, governor of Hon- 
duras, 229, 232. 

Salguero, Rodrigo, in rebellion, 262; 
killed at Old Panama, 266. 

Salmeron, Juan de, alcalde mayor, 228, 

231- 

Saludo, Francisco, abandons the de- 
fenses of the Chagres, 419. 

Salvatierra, Hispaniola, 157, 158. 

Samana, bay of, 61, 71. 

Samballas, 14, 396, 441, see also San 
Bias. 

San Bias, point of, 14; bay of, 14 298, 
317; Indians of, 14, 321; islands of, 
357, 396, 441- 

San Felipe, fort at Portobelo, 12, 290, 
394-398. 

San Felix, town, 26; Indian village, 287. 

San Francisco, cape of, 360. 

San Geronimo, port, 272. 

San Juan, pueblo on the overland road, 
7, 307; river of, 7, 307. 

San Juan de Nicaragua, 92, 93, 371. 

San Juan de Puerto Rico, 369. 

San Juan de Ulloa, 296, 339, 366; se& 
also Vera Cruz. 

San Juan River (El Desaguadero), 
visited by Columbus, 92, 93 ; examined 
by Davila, 220, 221, 229; explored by 
Estate and Rojas, 231, 222; descended 
by Machuca and Calero, 254, 301; 
navigation of, 256, 260, 301 ; as site 
for canal, 297, 301, 312, 317. 

San Lorenzo, castle at mouth of Cha- 
gres river, 8, 28; erected by Antonelli, 



291, 310; captured by Vernon, 398; 
rebuilt by Sala, 399; taken by Brad- 
ley, 412; demolished by Morgan, 434; 
Mina imprisoned in, 512. 

San Lorenzo, town of, 26. 

San Miguel, gulf of, i, 2, i6, 17, 24, 
discovered by Balboa, 173-175; visited 
by Morales, 194; navigated by Balboa, 
202 et seq.; explored by Andagoya, 
226; invaded by the buccaneers, 441, 
446, 451, 453, 463; oldest trans-isth- 
mian route, 474, 487, 488. 

San Nicolas, bay and cape, 57. 

San Pablo, Indian village, 287. 

San Pedro, Indian village, 287. 

San Roman, Father, 212. 

San Rosario, plate-ship, 452. 

San Salvador, first land discovered by 
Columbus, 48, 49; see -also Guanahani; 
Watling Island; 

San Sebastian, in Uraba, 16; third 
attempt at settlement on the Tierra- 
firme, 134; Ojeda wounded at, 135; 
driven out by the Indians, 136, 137; 
Encisco and Balboa at, 149; deserted 
by the Spaniards, 150, 151, 159, 237, 
249. 

Sanabria, alcalde in Veragua, 253. 

Sanchez, Juan, allows the Quibian to 
escape, 103; killed on Jamaica, iii; 
113. 

Sanchez, Spanish sea captain, 34. 

Santa Catarina, or Old Providence, is- 
land taken by the buccaneers, 392; re- 
taken by the Spaniards, 393, sii; re- 
captured by the buccaneers, 409, 434, 
469. 

Santa Cruz, island, 70, 87, 130. 

Santa Cruz, (Bahia Honda), first at- 
tempt of Spaniards to populate main- 
land of America, 129, 134. 

Santa Cruz, initial post, captured by 
Pocorosa, 14, 141, 189, 191, 196. 

Santa Cruz, on the Chagres, 307, 417. 

Santa Fe, founded by Vasquez, 25, 271, 
2TZ< 286, 287. 

Santa Gloria, port 109-111. 

Santa Maria, flagship of Columbus on 
First Voyage, 41, 45, <,7; wrecked on 
Haiti, 59; used to build Navidad, 60. 

Santa Maria, town on the Tuira river, 
16, 17, 23; raided by the buccaneers, 
441, 445; threatens New Edinburgh, 
483, 487, 496. 

Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien, 
s^e Antigua. 

Santa Marta, discovered and founded by 



Pive hundred fifty-five 



INDEX 



Bastidas, i33-i3S. iSi; Colmenares 
and Pediarias at, 186; Pizarro at, 244; 
Gasca at, 261; burnt by Drake, 343, 

370. 
Santangel, Luis de, assisted Columbus, 

40, 63. 
Santiago, 86, 88, 105, 106, 114- 
Santiago, Cuba, Bastidas dies in, 124. 
Santiago, town in Veraguas, 25. 
Santiago, Indian village, 287. 
Santiago del Principe, peopled by Cim- 

arrones, 291. 
Santo Domingo, island of, see Hispan- 

iola. 
Santo Domingo, city of, 80, 87, 88, 107- 
III, 121, 122, 124, 129, 132, 147, 159. 
167, 180, 211, 229, 236. 
Santos, La Villa de, 24, 25, 277^ 287. 
Saona, islet of, 88. 

Sarabia, Juan de, writes doggerel, 240. 
Sargasso Sea, 46, 69. 
Sasardi Point, 15- 
Sauce, Juan de, 218. 
Savannas, 4, 22, 417, 421. 
Sawkins, Richard, buccaneer chief, 387, 
431, 441, 445-448; killed at Pueblo 
Nuevo, 449. 
Scilly Isles, 357, 395- 
Scott, Lewis, first privateer to loot a- 

shore, 391. 
Scruggs, William L., quoted, 9, 10. 
Searles, Captain, at Taboga, 429- 
Self ridge, Thomas O., reports on Dar- 

ien, 297. 
Segovia, buccaneers in, 467. 
Serna, Hernando de la, explores the 

Chagres river, 28, 302. 
Serrano, Cristobal, brings reinforce- 

ments to Balboa, 168. 
Serrano, Juan, famous pilot, 185. 
Sharp, Bartholomew, buccaneer comman- 
der, in the Caribbean, 396, 414, 426, 
434; in the Sotith Sea, 441, 444, 447- 
452; acquitted of piracy, 453, 486. 
Siguera, Juan L- de, governor of Vera- 

gua, 286. 
Silva, Nuno da, the pilot, 358. 
Simeroons, see Cimarrones. 
Simon, Fray Pedro, 249. 
Simon, Le Sieur, 391. 
Sixola river, 4, 27. 
Slavery, in Spain, 74; see also Indians; 

Negroes; 
Sloth, 290, 330, 333. 
Smith, John, looks for strait, 295. 
Smuggling, 380. 



Snakes, on the Isthmus, 283, 336, 465. 
Solis, Juan de, 86, 90 294. 
Solomon's mines, in Veragua, loo. 
Sona, town in province of Veraguas, 25. 
Soria Luce, Domingo de, at Gallo 

island, 241. 
Sosa, Juan de, priest, 251, 254. 
Sosa, Lope de, governor of Castilla del 

Oro, 203, 211, 213, 214, 217, 229, 
Soto, Hernando de, at Darien, 185, 206; 

in Nicaragua, 222, et seq. 
Sotomayor, Alonso de, governor of 

Panama, 286, 509, 510. 
South Sea, or Pacific Ocean, 2, 17, 21, 
26; first news of, by Panciaco, 162; 
discovered by Balboa, 172; first navi- 
gated by Martin, 173; 180, 200, 211, 
229, 269, 272; waterway to, found by 
Magellan, 300; followed by Loaisa, 
Drake, and others, 300, 359, 369; 
held inviolate by Spain, 313, 399, 
420, 432; raided by the buccaneers, 
439; greatest and richest side of the 
world, 473. 
South Sea Company, 398. 
Spanish Main, 342, 343, 348, 391; see 

also Tierra Firme. 
Sphericity of the Earth, 34, 37, 42, 47. 
Spice islands, 31, 33, 42, 54, 66, 82, 

86, 184, 217. 
Springer's Key, 14. 
Squier, IJ. G., 209, 230. 
Stephens, John L-, a founder of the 

Panama Railroad, 10. 
Strabo, held Atlantic extended to east- 
ern shores of Asia, 33. 
Strain, Isaac G., seeks a canal route, 10, 

IS, 488. 
Strait, sought by Columbus and others, 
85, 108, 293, et seq.; found by Ma- 
gellan, 29s, 300; navigated by Loaisa, 
Drake and others, 300, 311, 359, 369; 
location forgotten, 311; at Panama, 
294, 311, 313; at Tehuantepec, 294; 
of Santa Maria, 311; of Le Maire, 
452. 
Suerre, river, 255. 
Sugar-cane, brought to America from 

the Canary Islands, 68. 
Sullivan, John T., reports on routes, 

298. 
Surinam, coast of, 118. 
Swan, Captain, buccaneer chief, 46a, 

464, 465, 480. 
Swattee, in Darien, 474. 
Swine, see Hogs. 



Pive hundred fifty-six 



INDUX 



Tabasco, Mexico, 90, 402. 
Tabernilla, town, 419. 
Tabira, Juan de, factor, 185, 192. 
Taboga Island, 23, 24; Badajoz and Rua 

on, 19s; Pedrarias at, 212; Pizarro 

sails from, 236; 259, 276, 281, 420; 

the Trinidad eludes Captain Searles 

at, 426; buccaneers at, 447, 448, 449, 

462, 463; Townley whips the Spanish 

cruisers at, 466. 
Tabor, Indian town, 195. 
Tabraba province, 199. 
Tafur, I^icientiate, 240, 241. 
Talamanca, 271, 323. 
Talavera, Fernando de, 37, 40. 
Tamame province 197. 
Tambaygos, 278. 
Tanela river, 16, 297. 
Tapia, Gomez de, strung up at Venta 

de Chagre, 265. 
Tapirs, 330, 334. 
Taracuri, Indian village, 193. 
Tarbo, Indian town, 123. 
Tataracherubi, Indian chief, 194. 
Tax, on Indians, 75 ; set also Reparti- 

miento ; Encomienda. 
Taybo, Cacique, 123. 
Tecuria, conversed with the Devil, 332. 
Tehuantepec, isthmus of, as interoceanic 

route, 296, 297 315, 317. 
Teneriffa, Pico di, 31. 
Teoca, Indian chief, 177. 
Tequinas, or masters, 329. 
Terranova, 295. 
Terreros, Pedro de, captain of the 

Gallego, 87, III, 115. 
Tertre, Du, 385. 
Testigos, islands, 79. 
Testu, Le, Captain, joins Drake, 356, 

357- 
Thomas, Duvivier, at New Edinburgh, 

481. 
Thome, Robert, 295. 
Tiba, or chief, 319, 332. 
Tiburon, cape of Colombia, 3, 15, 16, 

108, 215; cape of Haiti, 390, 408. 
Tickle Me Quickly Harbour, 15. 
Tides, in Caledonia Bay, 15; at Colon 
and Panama, 23 ; in gulf of San 
Miguel, 17s, 446. 
Tiempo Muerto at Portobelo, 394. 
Tierra Firrae, 2, 14; reached by Colum- 
bus, 79, 8s, 89, et seq.; by Ojeda, 
Niiio, Guerra, Pinzon, and Bastidas, 
118, 119, 122, 127, 129; granted to 
Ojeda and Nicuesa, 130 et seq.; 141, 
147, 151, 157, 168, 183, ef seq.; 211, 



220, 233, 244, 2SS, 272, 288, 395 ; see 
also Spanish Main; Castilla del Oro; 
Paria; Venezuela; Santa Marta; Pan- 
ama, Isthmus of. 

Tigres, 330, 444. 

Tirichi, Indian village, 166, 167- 

Tison, Thomas, 375. 

Tobacco, used by the Indians, 49, 55, S6, 
323. 

Tobaga, island, 79. 

Tocamoro, 440, 441. 

Todos IyOS Santos, named by Balboa, 
178. 

Toe (Isla Rica), 176. 

Toledo, Federico de, takes St, Kitts, 

381, 382. 

Toledo, Francisco de, viceroy of Peru, 

360. 
Tolu, 349> 355. 394- 
Topocante, in Darien, 495. 
Toreba, in Nicaragua, 222. 
Toro Point, lighthouse and breakwater 

at, 9. 
Torra province, 199. 
Torre, Joan de la, at Gallo, 241. 
Torres, Antonio de, 66, 72 74. 
Torres, Luis de, 55. 
Tortuga, island of, named by Columbus, 

57; headquarters of the Buccaneers, 

382, 383, 390. 391, 407- 
Tortugas, islands, 108. 

Toscanelli, Dr. Paulo, sends chart to 
Columbus, 35, 42. 

Totonagua, Indian chief, 194- 

Town of the Keys (Cayos), 434. 

Townley, Captain, buccaneer chief, 24, 
463-465; fight at Taboga, 466. 

Town-Meeting, first held in the New 
World, 151, 152. 

Trade-winds, 46, 87 ,357. 

Trautwine. J. L. surveys in Panama, 
296. 

Treaty, Hay-Bunau-Varilla, 3, 19; of 
Basle, 112; of Utrecht, 314; of 
Tordesillas, 379; of America, 389, 
435; with the Dariens, 467; of Rys- 
wick, 469, 472; Clayton-Bulwer, 

474- 
Tree-top Indians, 97, 165, 328. 
Triana, suburb of Portobelo, 393, 395. 

403- 
Trinidad, town, 25; island, 78, 79, 122, 

383; LaVilla de, 284; on the Rio 

Belen, 285; river, 307. 
Trinidad, ship, 429; 447, 450, 451, 453- 
Tristan, Diego , captain of the Capitana, 

killed by Veraguans, 104, 105, 113- 
Tristian, Captain, privateer, 457, 4S4. 



Five hundred fifty-seven 



INDEX 



Tropics, 142, 372, 471, 479. 

Trota, settlement in Veragua, 271. 

Trujillo, Peru, 242. 

Truxillo, Honduras, 89 ,230, 232, 371, 
372, 402. 

Tubanama, King, 162, 163, 169, 319; 
spared by Balboa, 178, 179; resists 
Ayora, 190-192. 

Tubugantee, 473, 474. 

Tuira river, 2, 16, 17, 441, 445, 487. 

Tumaco, Indian chief, surrenders pearls 
to Balboa, 17s; gives Balboa second 
intimation of Peru, 176, 177, 187,235; 
rov; Morales and Pizarro to the 
Pearl Islands, 193. 

Tumbaga, impure gold, 324. 

Tumbez, Peruvian city reached by Pi- 
zarro, 239, 242, 243, 262. 

Tunaca, Indian chief, 193. 

Turbaco, in Uraba, 132, 134. 

Turbo, town of, 139. 

Turey, or heavenly, 59. 

Turkeys, found in Nicaragua, 198. 

Turluri river, 272. 

Tutibra, Cacique, 193. 

Tuyraes, or devils, 200, 329, 330. 

U. 

Ulloa, Antonio de, 6, 25, 26, 27; de- 
scribes the animals of Panama, 335, 
336; at Portobelo, 393. 

Umbria, Pedro de, pilot with Nicuesa, 
144- 

United Fruit Co., 5. 

United States, 4, 9, 19, 27. 

Uraba, gulf of, i, 2, 14, 15, 16, 108 
118, 127, 130, 134, 139, 141, 149 
151, 187, 21S, 236, 249, 284, 317 
343, 474; Indians of, 135, 149, 289 
330; province of, 15, 16, 122, 149, 
159. 

Urira, region of, 100, loi. 

Urraca, Indian chief, 227, 228. 

Ursua, Pedro de, 308, 509- 

Utia, see Hutia. 

Urunia, or war-chief, 323. 



V. 



Vaca, Alonso, governor of Veragua, 

287. 
Vaca de Monte, see Tapirs. 
Vaila Monos, 307. 
Valderrabano, Andres de, with Balboa 

when he discovered the South Sea, 

181; beheaded with Balboa, 203, 204, 

207, 208. 



Valdes, Francisco V. C. de, captain with 
Pedrarias, 185. 

Valdes, Ramon M., 23, 164, 321. 

Valdivia, Cavalier, regidor of Antigua, 
151, 158; sacrificed by Indians, 163, 
167. 

Valdivieso, A. de, bishop of Nicar- 
agua, 262, 263. 

Valenzuela, Spanish officer, 147, 198, 
199. 

Valiente Indians, 5, 325; peninsula, 5. 

Valladolid, later Comayagua, 309. 

Vallejo, Francisco de, defeated at 
Cenii, 190. 

Valparaiso, Chile, 451. 

Valverde y Mercado, Francisco de, 
moves Nombre de Dios to Porto- 
belo, 288, 310. 

Van Horn, buccaneer leader, takes 
Vera Cruz, 391. 

Varco, (and Texeira) sailed down Bar- 
bary coast to Bojador, 32. 

Vareclas, Indian chief, 228. 

Vargas, Juan de, priest, 244. 

Vasco Nuiiez, see Balboa, Vasco Nu- 
iiez de. 

Vasquez, quoted, 248. 

Vasquez, Francisco, first governor of 
Veragua, 270; founds Santa Fe, Con- 
cepcion, and Trota, 271, 273, 28s, 
286. 

Vaux, W. S. W., 362. 

Vaz, Lopez, writes of Nombre de 
Dios, 346. 

Vega, Garcilasso de la, 241, 264. 

Vega Real, Hispaniola, 72, 75, 88. 

Vegara, Juan de, with Ojeda at Santa 
Cruz, 128, 129. 

Veitch, William, councillor of Cale- 
donia, 477, 494. 

Vela, Vasco Nuiiez, arrives at Nombre 
de Dios, 257. 

Vela, cape, 2, 118, 120, 130, 184, 339. 

Velasco, Diego F. de, ordered to look 
for a strait, 311. 

Velasco, Juan L,. de, describes Ver- 
agua, 284-286. 

Velasquez, Diego, governor of Cuba, 
131, 222, 228. 

Vendables, southwest winds, 394. 

Venezuela (L,ittle Venice) Coquibacoa, 
authority to colonize given to Alonso 
de Ojeda, 78, 81, 128; gulf of, 107, 
129, 392. 

Venta Cruz, see Cruces. 

Venta de Camalilla, inn on the Ca- 
mino Real, 7, 307. 



Pive hundred fifty-eight 



INDEX 



Venta de Chagre, where the Camino 

Real crossed Chagres river, 7, 307. 
Vera, Andres de, priest with Balboa, 

172, 181. 
Vera Cruz, Mexico, 90, 222, 296, 313, 

388, 391, 408. 
Veragua, Duke of, lineal descendant of 
Christopher Columbus created, 112, 
251; sends Peiia to settle Veragua, 
269; relinquishes his duchy to the 
crown, 270. 
Veragua (now Veraguas), province of, 
2, 4. S> 6, 25, 87, 94; discovered by- 
Columbus, 95, 96; settlement on Rio 
Belen, 98-102; Spaniards driven out 
by the Quibian, 104-108; Nicuesa 
resettles Belen, 141-144; deserted by 
Nicuesa, 145; 154, 184; Albites sails 
to settle, 212, 213; 227, 228; offered 
to Bartolome Colon, 250; Gutierrez 
starts Concepcion, 251, 252; aban- 
doned by Gutierrez, 253; made a 
duchy, 269; attempt to settle, by 
Badajoz, 269; Pena fails to settle, 
270; duchy given up by I^uis Colon, 
270; descriptions of, 269 et seq; 
governor Vasquez founds Santa Fe 
and Concepcion, 270, 273, 285; set- 
tled by people of Nata, 270, 272; 
governors of, 270, 273, 287; hot, hu- 
mid and unhealthy, 271, 273; bal- 
lasted with gold, 100, 250, 284, 285; 
towns of, 287; Indians of, 95, 98, 
102, 227, 252, 287, 320, 323 et seq. 
Veragua river, 6, 98, 99, 102, 103, 142, 

14s. 251, 272, 286, 355. 
Verde, cape, 31, 32; islands, 34, 82, 

379, 504- 
Verdugo, Melchor, takes Nombre de 

Dios, 260. 
Vernon, Edward, 8, 12, 290, 382; de- 
clared he could take Portobelo, 397; 
captures Portobelo and San Ivorenzo, 
398; futile attempt on Panama, 399; 
515- 
Verrazanno, Giovanni de, finds Chesa- 
peake Bay, 294. 
Vespucci, Amerigo, his name affixed to 

New World, 67, 81, 86, 128. 
Viboras, or Pedro Shoals, 163, 515. 
Viceroyalty of the Indies, granted to 
Columbus, 40; taken from Columbus 
and his family, 81, 86, 118, 127, 251. 
Vikings, buccaneers analogous to, 389. 
Vildemos, looted, 402. 
Villacorta, Alonso M. de, builder of 
New Panama, 18, 432, 439, 512. 



Villafuerte, Pedro de, conspires against 

Bastidas, 122-124. 
Villalba, Rodrigo de, stabs the rebels, 

266. 

Virgin islands, named by Columbus, 

70, 369. 
Viscaina, 86, 97, 105, 107, 109, 115. 
Volcano, of Chiriqui, 27. 

W. 

Wafer, Lionel, buccaneer doctor and 
historian, 14, 24, 96, 322, 323, 334; 
crosses the Isthmus, 442; in the 
South Sea, 446-452; with the Darien 
Indians, 454; put to a Non-plus, 
456; practices phlebotomy, 458; re- 
joins his party, 460; again in the 
Pacific, 461-467; returns to the 
Caribbean, 468; 472, 486. 

Waldeseemiiller, map of, 294. 

Wank river, descended by the bucca- 
neers, 467. 

War of Jenkin's ^a,v, 399. 

Warner, Thomas, settles on St. Kitts, 
381. 

Warree, native wild-hog, 334, 444. 

Watling, John, buccaneer captain, 387, 
350; killed at Arica, 451. 

Watling Island (San Salvador), first 
land sighted by Columbus, 48-52. 

West Indies, 24, 55, 67, 82, 120, 127, 
176. 338, 375 et seq., 402, 452, 469, 
471, 486; see also Antilles. 

Wild-hog, see Peccary. 

William, Mosquito Indian, 384, 442; 
left at Juan Fernandez, 451. 

William III., king of England, 468, 
476, 481, 484, 485- 

Willoughby, Sir Hugh, tries for a 
northeast passage, 295. 

Windward Channel, 57. 

Winter, John, deserts Drake, 359. 

Women, Indian, 60, 232, 233, 322, 
323, 327. 

X. 

Xagua, Cuba, 137. 

Xaquixaguana, (Sonzalo Pizarro be- 
headed at, 262. 
Xaragua, 110. 

Y. 

Yaqui river, Hispaniola, 61. 

Yerva del Gallo, 336. 

Yucatan, discovered by Cordova and 

A-laminos, 90, 163. 
Yucatan Channel, 86. 
Yunque, Cuban mountain, 54. 



Zacatui,a, Mexican port, 300. 

Zambos, or zambaigos, 325. 

Zamudio, Martin, chosen alcalde at 

Antigua, 151, 153, 158, 169, 183. 
Zapatero point, 6. 
Zapatilla cay, 5. 
Zarobaro, islands, 255. 
Zevallos, Juan C. G., castellan of San 

Lorenzo, 398. 
Zenu, cemetery of, 249, ; see also Cenu. 
Zorita, Juan de, captain with Pedrarias, 

185. 



Pive hundred fifty-nine 



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